The traditional Vision Council Lab Division Hall of Fame Dinner is always a highlight of the Vision Expo West. At the Hall of Fame Dinner – in festive atmosphere with cocktails and a splendid buffet – people are honored for their outstanding contribution to the optical industry and the Vision Council. This year the event on September 18th was of particular significance to all of us at MAFO and FOCUS magazines as our founder and until recently the publisher of the magazines, Jörg Spangemacher, was inducted into the Hall of Fame. The award recognized Jörg Spangemacher’s life-long dedication to reporting on the international optical industry and setting up ‘MAFO – The Conference’, a platform where every year experts from the industry come together to exchange information and broaden their knowledge. Jörg Spangemacher, who retired recently, was very appreciative of this recognition of his achievements.

Other honors went to Arman Bernardi, Ph.D. of iCoat, Yvette Carranza of DVI, Ed DeRosa of Signet Armorlite, Skip Payne of IcareLabs and Kevin A. Rupp of Essilor. The Directors’ Choice Award for 2019 went to Steve Sutherlin, the Vision Council’s Lab Division Liaison Officer and former President of Sutherlin Optical, for over 45 years of dedicated service to the optical industry. Over 200 guests joined with the recipients in the recognition of their achievements and listened attentively to their moving acceptance speeches. Unlike previous years where different speakers introduced the individual winners, this year all the presentations were made by Emcees Swen Carlson and Steve Sutherland. This new format proved successful and met with general approval.