Category: Member Awards

Sacramento, February 10, 2012- Kathy Witmeyer, O.D., F.A.A.O. was named 2011 Young Optometrist of the Year by the California Optometric Association. The award was presented at the House of Delegates in Sacramento on February 10, 2012. Congratulations Dr. Witmeyer for all your contributions to the Optometric profession!

Sacramento, February 10, 2012- Congratulations to the San Diego Optometric Society and all our members for earning us the honor of being named 2011 Society of the Year by the California Optometric Association. The award was announced at the House of Delegates in Sacramento on February 10, 2012.

San Diego, CA, January 19, 2012 – Dr Joseph Garvin was awarded the prestigious 2011 OD Of The Year Award by Dr. Byron Newman, recipient of the 2010 OD Of The Year Award. Currently, Dr. Garvin remains active as an AOA and COA delegate, and in all keyperson programs, state and national, and he continues to mentor and advise the COA Board. He is also working In private practice.Thank you to Dr. Garvin for all your wonderful work on behalf of our profession!

San Diego, CA June 21, 2010 – The Cornea and Contact Lens Section of the American Optometric Association honored San Diego Optometrist, Dr. Jerry Legerton, with the 2010 Achievement Award at the annual meeting in Orlando, Florida.

Dr. Legerton practiced in Lemon Grove and Rancho Penasquitos, served as an elected City Councilman and Mayor Pro-tem for the City of Lemon Grove and served as a Director of the San Diego Association of Governments. Dr. Legerton was honored for his community service with a proclamation by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors for Jerome A. Legerton Day on June 20, 1995.

He is an accomplished author, lecturer, vision scientist and consultant to the ophthalmic industry. He is an inventor on twenty-three issued patents and more than thirty patents pending for multifocal, aberration blocking, hybrid and scleral contact lenses, refractive surgery, corneal refractive therapy, contact lenses for refractive error regulation, contact lenses for wearable displays, humanitarian eyewear and diagnostic devices.

Legerton is a founder of SynergEyes, Inc. in Carlsbad, CA and co-inventor of Paragon CRT, a novel lens for overnight Corneal Refractive Therapy. During his 26 years in the private practice of optometry he specialized in low vision and contact lenses and served as the managing partner of a seven doctor multi-specialty practice in San Diego. He was named the Young Optometrist of the Year by the California Optometric Association and Optometrist of the Year by the San Diego Optometric Society.

Having served as Benedict Professor, Practice Management for the University of Houston, College of Optometry in 1997-98 he is now the Practice Management Editor for Primary Care Optometry News and a Contributing Editor for Review of Optometry. He has published more than fifty articles in professional journals and has lectured on six continents.

He remains active in product development of contact lens enabled wearable electronic displays, humanitarian eyewear, and devices for early detection of ocular disease. He currently serves as the Chairperson for the San Diego Specialty Contact Lens Symposium to be held February 11-13, 2011 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel. He is also the Chairperson of the Board of Governors of Perelandra College in La Mesa, CA.

Dr. Legerton is a graduate of the Southern California College of Optometry and received his MBA from Pepperdine University.

SAN DIEGO, CA June 21, 2010 – Michael Goldsmid, O.D. San Diego County Optometric Society member, was awarded the prestigious “Philanthropist of the Year” award by the global fundraising initiative, “Optometry Giving Sight” (OGS). The OGS specifically targets the prevention of unnecessary blindness and impaired vision due to refractive error.

Dr. Goldsmid, a private practice optometrist, is also an administrator in Vision Source, North America’s largest network of private practice optometrists, and of the 40 plus members in Dr. Goldsmid’s San Diego group all are members of the AOA, he proudly points out.

It was among this group, that Goldsmid raised $50,000 for OGS, and awarded the recognition. “Dr. Goldsmid is being recognized for his overall leadership, advocacy and contributions to Optometry Giving Sight,” said Victor J. Connors, OD, Past AOA president and chairman and CEO of “Optometry Giving Sight USA.”

“The most significant of his contributions is the fact that he has stepped up as an ambassador providing timely and passionate leadership and advocacy with his Vision Source colleagues,” added Dr. Connors in recognizing Goldsmid for his outstanding efforts.

OGS (www.givingsight.org) is a joint initiative of the World Optometry Foundation, The World Health Organization (WHO) and other international groups aiming to eliminate avoidable blindness and give all people in the world the right to sight.

Dr. Goldsmid, on receiving his award stated, “My greatest joy would be for other optometrists to fully participate in this effort to what has proven to be such a worthy, inspirational and achievable cause.”

It is estimated that 670 million people are unnecessarily blind or visually impaired because they cannot get the glasses they need. Optometry Giving Sight funds the solution. OGS reaches out to the more than 200,000 optometrists around the world, and their nearly 325 million patients to fund these programs.

Sacramento, CA, February 17, 2010 – The California Optometric Association (COA) has named Vision West, Inc. CEO and president and Escondido resident Joseph C. Mallinger, OD, MBA, FAAO, Optometrist of the Year for 2009 during its annual House of Delegates meeting in Ontario, California, January 29-30, 2010. Dr. Mallinger was recognized for his exemplary contributions to public service, service to the visual welfare of the public, service to optometry and service to the Association.

“I am truly honored to receive this award from my peers,” Dr. Mallinger says. “Volunteering time to the profession of optometry became a passion of mine after observing some of the great visionaries of the profession. In particular is Richard Hopping, OD, DOS, FAAO. His dedication to the profession played a significant role in the manner in which members of our profession deliver quality health and vision care to the public in these times. Using one of his many statements as my guide served me well during my volunteer years. His simple statement: ‘If it is not right for the profession of optometry – DO NOT DO IT’ is one I use every day and am indebted to him for him taking the time to pass it on to me.”

Dr. Mallinger has long been active in professional optometry since graduating from the Southern California College of Optometry (SCCO) in 1972. Since that time, Dr. Mallinger worked to promote the profession of optometry within the communities of Coronado, Escondido and Carlsbad by offering free optometric care to migrant workers, and worked within those communities to offer free services for elementary school screenings. He also served as a consultant free-of-charge to the school districts of Carlsbad, Encinitas, Oceanside, Vista and Valley Center to help develop and teach the need for testing for developmental learning disabilities. Dr. Mallinger has been active on the state and local level of the American Optometric Association, including past president of the San Diego County Optometric Society (SDCOS), past president of COA, and past president and current secretary/treasurer of the Public Vision League. He was named Young OD of the Year by COA in 1980, and twice received the SDCOS OD of the Year Award.

Active in his community, Dr. Mallinger has been president of the Coronado Senior and Escondido American Little Leagues, vice president of the Escondido Jaycees, and member of the Optimist Club and Carlsbad Noon Rotary Dr. Malliner retired from providing patient care in 1996 and currently serves as president and CEO of Vision West, Inc. Vision West helps the profession by providing non-dues revenue to the COA and a number of other state optometric associations. He resides in Oceanside with his wife, Patricia, and their children: Jennifer Mallinger, OD 38; Joseph P. Mallinger, 35; J’lene (Mallinger) Cave 32; and John Mallinger, 30.

California Optometric Association, was established in 1899, and is California’s oldest organized community for optometrists. Representing more than 2,700 optometrists, COA is dedicated to ensuring the highest quality of health care for the public through the advancement of optometry.

Sacramento, CA, February 15, 2010 – Karen Peschke, OD, a San Diego area optometrist, was recently named Young Optometrist of the Year for 2009 by the California Optometric Association (COA) during its annual House of Delegates meeting in Ontario, California, on January 29-30, 2010. Dr. Peschke was honored for her significant contributions to organized optometry and her local society, the San Diego County Optometric Society (SDCOS).

Dr. Peschke is very appreciative and honored to receive the Young OD of the Year by the COA. She plans to continue her commitment to the profession of optometry and uphold the high standards set for her by past recipients.

In the short time since she has been in practice, Dr. Peschke has demonstrated her leadership abilities through her local society and community service. Dr. Peschke was a Trustee for SDCOS’ Board in 2008, and currently serves on the Board as Webmaster. She also sits on the National Board of Examiners in Optometry — Part 1 Disease Committee, and is an examiner for the Part 3 Board Exam. In her community, Dr. Peschke is a volunteer for the Lions Vision Clinic, for which she conducts volunteer eye exams for low-income patients at their San Diego clinic, and is a volunteer examiner in North County San Diego at her private practice. She is also an active member of the Rotary Club of Shadowridge, Vista, which conducts community service activities throughout North County, San Diego.

Dr. Peschke received her Doctorate of Optometry in 2002 from the Southern California College of Optometry in Fullerton, CA. She is a partner in private practice with Dr. Stephen Chinn in San Marcos, CA, where they focus on primary eye care and contact lenses.

The California Optometric Association was established in 1899 and is California’s oldest organized community for optometrists. Representing more than 2,700 optometrists, COA is dedicated to ensuring the highest quality of health care for the public through the advancement of optometry.