The 2021 Annual Conference & OPTOFAIR occurred on September 17-19, 2021—hosted as a hybrid event. The conference took place both at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver, and virtually in the form of CE Sessions offered as webinars. Over 540 BCDO and CAO members registered to the conference, with 37 students and 33 non-member Optometrists. The weekend offered a total of 29 courses providing 31 CE credit hours featuring 31 different speakers. This year BCDO branched into new ways of running the conference while pivoting to meet the challenges posed by COVID-19 in two keyways: Contactless Badge Scanning which helped reduce close-proximity contact and ensure a more reliable data collection method, and a Conference Web Platform where BCDO offered live streaming of webinars, in-person sessions, course notes and event information. To support events and the continuing education courses, 14 corporate sponsors contributed a total of $171,500.00 to the 2021 Annual Conference & OPTOFAIR. Awards Luncheon The Awards Luncheon, hosted by Dr. Errin Bligh, 32 | Eye Digest Magazine
presented the opportunity to recognize and celebrate member, optometric staff and industry who have made extraordinary contributions to the optometric profession.
Once again, congratulations to our award recipients:
• President's Award | Dr. Shannon Cerniuk
The President’s Awards is BCDO’s top award for our profession and has developed to recognize the exemplary and outstanding professional and community contributions made by a member of the British Columbia Doctors of Optometry.
• Optometrist of the Year | Dr. Pavan Avinashi
The Optometrist of the Year award honours a member who has contributed to the advancement of optometry in a meaningful
