WINTER 2020
CLASS NOTES: WINTER 2020
1930s
1940s
1945
Harold Davis has retired from Davis Eyecare in Oak Lawn, Ill., after 75 years of practice. He also recently celebrated his 98th birthday.
1950s
1960s
1970s
1976
Samuel Wapner was appointed to the Michigan Board of Optometry by Governor Whitmer.
1978
Stephanie Johnson-Brown was named the 2020 Optometrist of the Year by the Illinois Optometric Association.
1979
Joe Pederzolli received the Lion of the Year Award from the Alliance (Ohio) Lions Club.
Timothy Wingert, Dean of the University of the Incarnate Word Rosenberg School of Optometry, was named a Fulbright Scholar to Poland by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. This is his 2nd U.S. Fulbright Scholar award to Poland.
1980s
1982
Bruce Onofrey and Leonid Skorin, Jr. published the fourth edition of their textbook "Ocular Therapeutics Handbook: A Clinical Manual" released earlier this year.
1985
Samuel Forzley was elected Secretary/Treasurer of the Illinois Optometric Association.
Neil Margolis participated in a national summit on autism in October with 20 other renowned speakers. In December, he will also present on vision rehabilitation for post-concussion symptoms to a national chain of physical therapy providers.
1987
Millicent Knight received the 2020 Pleiades Award from the Optical Women's Association. She also was honored to be the commencement speaker for her alma mater, Augustana College.
Pete Russo was elected to his second term as Secretary of the ICO Alumni Council.
1990s
1992
Michele Andrews was promoted to Vice President, Professional and Government Affairs, Americas, by CooperVision, Inc.
Don Furman was elected Secretary/Treasurer of the Iowa Optometric Association.
1997
Casey Hogan was elected Vice President of the ICO Alumni Council.
1998
Robert Assantes has joined Thomasville Eye Center in Thomasville, Ga.
1999
Rachel Caywood has joined the Dean McGee Eye Institute and the University of Oklahoma Department of Ophthalmology as a member of the Optometry Service.
Brian Kirschling was elected President of the Iowa
Optometric Association.
2000s
2002
Anthony Drew has joined the Shopko team in Beloit, Wis. 2005
Jeff Neighbors was elected Vice President of the Iowa
Optometric Association.
Samantha Love (née Hair) celebrated five years of
owning Clermont Family Eyecare in Clermont, Fla.
2006
Treacy Adamo was appointed to the board of clinical advisors for Visible Genomics.
2007
Ryan Ames was elected Treasurer of the Wisconsin Optometric Association.
Tessa Sokol was elected Vice President of the Wisconsin
Optometric Association.
2008
Matthew Jones was elected President of the Illinois
Optometric Association.
Nana Owusu was named 2020 Optometrist of the Year by the Manitoba Association of Optometrists. He was also elected President of the ICO Alumni Council.
Renée Phipps wrote a children’s book, Harry the Bear. It was released in October and available to order online. The book is meant to make a visit to the optometrist a fun and easy experience for children. Order at www.prairieeye.com/childrens-book-harry-the-bear.
2009
Melissa Zarn Urankar was appointed to the advisory
board of the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association.
2010s
2010
Rumeet Dhaliwal welcomed baby Jugaad on May 8.
Zanna Kruoch (Resident) achieved Diplomate status in the AAO anterior segment section.
2012
Trichelle Jackson was named Young Optometrist of the Year by the Iowa Optometric Association.
2013
Bhawan Minhas received the 2020 Distinguished Service Award from Salus University, Pennsylvania College of Optometry, where she has served as a faculty member since 2014.
2014
Stephanie Sloan-Flamich and Lucas Flamich welcomed
baby Norah on May 13.
Katie Davis Tarver was named Young Optometrist of the
Year by the South Carolina Optometric Association.
2015
Elizabeth Walsh Czirr welcomed baby Emmy Rose in April.
Dixit Patel has announced the birth of baby Leia on September 9.
2016
Iwona Miltko Dong and Jonathan Dong welcomed Anastazja My Lan on July 2.
Sara (Davies) Starko celebrated two years of owning her private practice, Countryside Vision Care, in Alberta, Canada.
2020s
2020
Angie Biskupiak has joined Helena Vision Center in Helena, Mont.
Stephanie (Golon) Engebretson has joined North Shore Eye Health and Wellness in Cedarburg, Wis.
Sara Kloft has joined Eye Surgeons Associates, PC in Bettendorf, Iowa.
Jesse Mize has joined Ravenswood Eyecare in Ravenswood, W.Va.
Friends and Family
Mea Culpa
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The following abbreviations denote predecessor names of the Illinois College of Optometry.
NICO: Northern Illinois College of Optometry
CCO: Chicago College of Optometry
MCO: Monroe College of Optometry
