Dear Colleague,

           I want to keep this newsletter short and focused.

           As the 2023-2024 comes to an end and the 2025-2026 biennium begins, I am challenging you with a call to action.

            I am asking that you write a letter to the governor, AND send him an email, AND leave a voicemail for him. In each of these communications I would encourage you to encourage him to appoint more members to the Board of Opticianry so that it is comprised of what is supposed to be: five opticians and two lay people.

            For a long time, the Board has only had four members (three opticians and one lay person) instead of seven. That means if only three of them show up for a meeting that makes a quorum. I don’t think it is healthy or in the best interest of right and wrong to have an environment in which three people (or even four) can make decisions and craft rules that affect 3,600 opticians, 1,400 apprentices, and most importantly, over 22 million Floridians. With seven members discussing issues and cases right and reason will usually win out. With only three or four…who knows?

            If you accept this challenge, here is the contact information for Governor DeSantis:

 The Honorable Governor Ron DeSantis                                                     

Office of the Governor                                                                                                

400 S. Monroe Street                                                                                              

Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001

 (850) 717-9337 (Monday through Friday 9:00-5:00)

 GovernorRon.DeSantis@eog.myflorida.com

 
            I also challenge you to “attend” all the Board meetings. There are usually four or five a year. These days they are mostly just teleconferences. As this newsletter is being written, the next meeting is Tuesday, August 20, 2024 at 2:00 pm. You may join by telephone by phoning a few minutes before. The number is 850-792-1375. You will be asked to enter an Access Code. The code is 248-772-232#. For future meeting schedules, simply go to floridasopticianry.gov and click on the meetings tab.

       You may also join the meetings by Microsoft Teams, by following the link. Go to floridasopticianry.gov and click on the Meetings tab. Follow the link there.

            I think it is important for you to attend for a few reasons:

1.   It keeps you abreast of what’s going on in your profession
2.   It makes you more confident if you ever must appear before the Board.
3.  It lets the Board members know that more opticians are actively paying attention to its             decisions.

             Regardless of your decision to get more involved with your profession or not, I wish you all a healthy and prosperous biennium!​

Respectfully,

Anthony Record, Director

Optical Seminars (Florida-Approved Provider 50-13491)

Newsletter

Fall/Winter 2024