ONE FOR ALL, AND ALL FOR ONE

Our Academy was founded on the concept of volunteerism. That value is evident in the way Fellows say, “I love the Academy.” or “That Academy meeting in San Francisco was wonderful,” or “I never miss an Academy meeting!” and in the fact that the list of Fellows who put their names forward to volunteer for Committee positions far exceeds the number of positions that need filling. That value is evident in the day-to-day, meeting-to-meeting, year-to-year actions of volunteers.

Sheila Anderson locked herself in the Westin Hotel along with the 46 other Fellows on the Admittance Committee for an entire day during the San Francisco meeting: no continuing education, no fun, no food (oh, that’s not right; I’ll bet we fed them).

Tammy Than must have donned roller skates during the annual meetings during her four years as Chair of the Lectures and Workshops Committee; she always seemed to be everywhere in each city’s convention center, all the time begging the question, “Does she ever sleep?”

Every year, vision scientists who are ARVO members trek to our meeting and donate their time to educate fellow optometrists and inspire fellow scientists. In Anaheim in 2008, Janey Wiggs, MD, PhD, world-renowned ocular geneticist from Harvard University, graced our Academy with her presence in just this way.

Just this week, I asked six Fellows to serve our Academy in a new way and heard back in the affirmative from four of them in less than 24 hours.

And who can forget then-Membership Chair Barbara Caffery’s “kissing booth” in the Academy’s recruitment area in the Exhibit Hall?

My attitude about my own Academy service might sound familiar to some of you: “Free. And it always will be.”

These are just several examples of the tireless service that benefits our Academy every day. Your own opportunity to serve the Academy starts in simple ways. Pay your dues. Come to the Annual Meeting. Submit scientific presentations, lectures, and workshops year after year. Dance at the Australia Party. Form a Special Interest Group. Become a Diplomate. Undoubtedly, there are countless others.

Here at Ohio State, I have a poster on my wall that Tom Raasch gave me in 1996 when I first joined the faculty. It pictures our then- and now-president, E. Gordon Gee, engaged in lots of activities including reading a newspaper (School of Journalism), wearing a lab coat (Colleges of Health Sciences), and striking a Heisman pose (well, you know). The saying across the top says, “Find Your Place at Ohio State.” I can steal that: Find your place in our Academy. It will reward you beyond measure.
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