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by Amy Spiezio

PEOPLE
Paul Cartwright, Signature Eyewear's director of marketing and licensing	Stephen Fournier, regional sales manager, Match Eyewear
The Cooper Companies, Inc., has appointed John A. Weber president of CooperVision. Weber most recently served as president, Asia Pacific, and previously was vice president, worldwide manufacturing and distribution, of CooperVision. He also served in several senior executive positions at Ocular Sciences, Inc. Alex Incera has been appointed general manager of Gerber Coburn, a unit of Gerber Scientific, Inc. He is responsible for the unit's worldwide business operations. He has been with the firm since 1995. Signature Eyewear, Inc., has named Paul Cartwright director of marketing and licensing. He will guide brand development and increase sales volume for Signature's eyewear licenses. His previous licensing successes include Los Angeles-based jewelry company Lucas Design, Playboy, Rocawear, and Disney Couture Jewelry. Match Eyewear named Stephen Fournier regional sales manager for the western United States. He was previously with Aspex Eyewear and Silhouette Optical. Fournier will implement marketing concepts to increase sales and will be responsible for managing and developing sales territories in several Western U.S. markets. Joan Hollywood-Alten has joined Augen Optics as the company's marketing manager. She is responsible for marketing Augen products to trade and consumer markets in the U.S., Canada, South America, and Europe. Working for SOLA International for over 10 years, she specialized in new products and businesses. In her current role, she'll be developing strategic marketing programs and materials to introduce the Augen line of premium High Definition optical products.

IN MEMORY

Grace "Bebe" Rips, co-founder of Younger Optics, died February 20. She and her husband of 57 years, Irving, built Younger Optics from a backyard garage into a successful optical company. She is survived by her children, Ted, David, and Debby, and eight grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in her name to Hadassah Southern California, 310-276-0036.

Celebrating their Subsidiary of the Year award: (l to r) Charmant USA's Dee Berghuys, Dennis Davis, president Harry Aida, and Jean Simone

AWARDS

Charmant Group recently held its International Strategy Meeting at the group's headquarters in Sabae City, Japan. Each of the group's subsidiaries participated and reviewed their 2007 sales achievement and outlined their strategies for 2008. Kaoru Horikawa, group chairman, presented the Subsidiary of the Year award to Charmant USA.

BUSINESS UPDATES

The Customer Development Group of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., has introduced a new e-invoicing program. The program allows for online review of invoices and monthly statements, eliminating the need for daily paper invoices and weekly invoice summaries. The program also provides reprints of past invoices and monthly statements.

Eyefinity announced an agreement with Liquid Software Designs Inc., enabling Liquid Software Designs' practice management system to seamlessly integrate with Eyefinity's online systems. The integration with Eyefinity's online systems will reduce the time that eyecare providers need to process their patient orders.

Proenza Schouler's Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez were announced as nominees of the Council of Fashion Designers 2008 Womenswear Designer of the Year. Previously, the pair won the award in 2007, sharing honors with Oscar de la Renta. Proenza Schouler and L'Amy America have signed a worldwide license agreement for the creation, production, and distribution of ophthalmic glasses and sunglasses under the Proenza Schouler brand.

GOOD DEEDS

Optometry's Fund for Disaster Relief, administered by Optometry's Charity, is ready to assist optometrists whose practices and/or homes were impacted by recent tornadoes in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The Fund provides assistance in the aftermath of natural disasters. Optometrists may contact their state association or the AOA directly to initiate financial assistance. Application forms are available at www.aoa.org/x5602.xml.

Dr. Kevin Roe, director of professional relations for CIBA Vision, will host five days of bicycling and education in Napa Valley, Calif. Cycle-4-Sight 2008 will raise funds for Optometry Giving Sight, an organization established in 2003 to address the needs of the 300 million men, women, and children around the world who are blind or vision-impaired simply because they don't have access to an eye exam and a pair of glasses. There is a daily ride with two skill levels and five hours of COPE CE. Participants are required to raise a minimum of $1,000 for Optometry Giving Sight. Visit www.givingsight.org or email kevin.roe@cibavision.com.