The House of Delegates at the American Optometric Association’s (AOA) meeting in Chicago in July saw the induction of Ronald L. Hopping, OD, MPH, FAAO, as President of the AOA, accompanied by First Lady Desiree T. Hopping, OD, FAAO. As everyone well knows, he followed in the footsteps of his father, Richard Hopping, OD, FAAO, a past-president of the AOA, to create the first parent-child AOA presidential pairing. Our own Academy can also lay special claim to Dr. Ron. In addition to being a Fellow, he is a Diplomate in the Section on Cornea, Contact Lenses & Refractive Technologies, an achievement of which he is rightfully proud. We are at least that proud of him. Congratulations, Ron!
Following a rousing inaugural parade into the House for Ron that included Texas music and flags and a lot of rompin’, stompin’ cowboy boots, Ron delivered an inspirational speech. In it, he promoted the importance of a vital, healthy, actively-advocating-on-behalf-of-our-profession American Optometric Association. He told the assembled audience that they “drink from wells they did not dig,” while exhorting them to help maintain our profession’s healthy advocate.
Wow, I thought, what a lovely turn of phrase. Did Ron write that? If I’d asked him, I know he would have said, “No, you idiot.” A quick look at the Google Machine yielded this reference, from Deuteronomy 6:11. I love the poetry of the American King James Bible (always have, from childhood), which goes like this, “And houses full of all good things, which you filled not, and wells dug, which you dug not, vineyards and olive trees, which you planted not; when you shall have eaten and be full.
In our lives, we all drink from wells we did not dig, both personally and professionally. (Naturally, there are holes we’ve dug ourselves into, but that’s a story for another day.) Our own Academy house is beautiful and well stocked with good things. Your AAO housekeepers, in the form of valued staff and dedicated volunteers, including the hardest working Board of Directors in show business, are busy planning the Annual Meeting in Phoenix where you will all eat olives and drink wine and intellectually fulfill yourselves. Come join us, AOA President Ron Hopping and his Board of Trustees, and 5,000+ of your closest friends at Academy 2012 Phoenix.
