Southern College of Optometry (SCO) in Memphis, Tennessee, recently recognized 3 alumni with the Hayes Center for Practice Excellence Award. The award recognizes graduates of the past 10 years who own and operate private optometry practices. This is the Hayes Center’s 12th year recognizing young SCO alumni with these prestigious awards, the college said in a press release.
This year’s recipients and their respective awards are:
-
Katie Bond, OD: New Practice Award
-
Hunter Chapman, OD: Practice Acquisition Award
-
Chase Harter, OD: Partnership Award
“It’s always a privilege to see these young alumni provide excellence in vision care while coming back to SCO to showcase their leadership and business skills to the current students,” said Dr. Jerry Hayes, OD, who founded the Hayes Center for Practice Excellence. “Optometric care is a vital aspect of an individual’s health, and these 3 optometrists have applied their exemplary education at SCO to create thriving practices in their respective communities.”
Dr. Bond, Class of 2016, launched her practice, Greenley Family Vision in Greenley, Colorado, in 2021. The New Practice Award recognizes an optometrist who holds a majority or equal ownership interest in a newly formed private practice.
Dr. Chapman, Class of 2016, joined Dillingham Chapman Family Eyecare in Sterlington, Louisiana, in 2016. He purchased the practice in 2019. The Practice Acquisition Award recognizes an optometrist who has completed the buy-sell process of acquiring a previously existing private practice.
Dr. Harter, Class of 2018, became a partner at Southwest Eyecare in Columbus, Ohio, in 2021. The Partnership Award recognizes an optometrist who purchased or earned an equity interest in an existing private practice and actively participates as a partner in its operations or management.
Dr. Hayes, a 1973 SCO graduate, established the Hayes Center with the mission to teach independent optometrists the fundamentals of managing the business side of a private practice, including strategic planning, budgeting, overhead control, and profitability. It provides SCO students and alumni the resources and networking connections to build successful and sustainable practices.
The award ceremony was presented at SCO on April 8 as part of the annual Bon VoyEyes program, which prepares third-year SCO students for externships in their final year of optometry school. Each recipient shared their experiences and provided professional advice in a panel discussion with the students. CooperVision and Johnson & Johnson Vision sponsored the award program. OM