Welcome to this morning’s Optometric Physician, delayed from its usual Saturday morning arrival by a totally crazy last week. As you read this, one week ago I was in Boston to attend the Inaugural Industry & Employer Relations Meeting, hosted by the New England College of Optometry. While the name may not inspire visions of salvation or disruptive change, I will tell you that this was among the most important meetings that I have attended in my entire career.

The brainchild of NECO President Howard Purcell with the assistance and hard work of NECO VP of Professional Affairs Gary Chu and a well-engaged group of NECO administrators, faculty and students, the meeting brought together a veritable who’s who of industry, media, leadership, employers, professional associations and a panoply of individuals interested in the future of optometry. The one glaring and notable exception was the AOA. More on that to come.

Most of you are aware of my frustration with the lack of leadership in our profession. This was an incredibly refreshing moment where I got to witness true, selfless, forward-thinking leadership. I’ve known Howard Purcell for a good part of my professional career and have had the pleasure of watching him develop into one of the most powerful forces for good in optometry of our generation. Howard’s power and reach were evident in the broad range of attendees that spanned just about every aspect of our profession and industry. His assuming the presidency of NECO at this point in the college’s history is the perfect example of right person, right time and right place.

During the meeting, I sat across from representatives from VSP, Essilor, Novartis, Luxottica, Jobson, Walmart, Haag Streit, Allergan, ASCO, B+L, Vision Source, National Vision and MyEyeDr., among others—some of whom I would have had little, if anything, to say to in the past. As we worked together, I realized that all of us are in the same boat and that our futures are all tied to the survival and wellbeing of optometry. It quickly became evident that establishing productive dialog and working together was the best, if not the only way, to ensure our profession’s future.

While optometry’s problems are deep and broad, I think Howard, Gary and the NECO team realize that the best place to start fixing our problems is at the beginning of each of our journeys—with the schools and colleges of optometry. I will be writing a lot more about this initiative over the coming months as this is just the beginning. Howard and his team have created a nucleus for change, and I am completely onboard and devoted to making sure that their vision is realized.

Arthur B. Epstein, OD, FAAO Chief Medical Editor artepstein@optometricphysician.com