[bc]TRANSITIONS OPTICAL AND ESSILOR JOIN 21st CENTURY OPTICS TO RECOGNIZE EYECARE PROFESSIONALS FOR EXCEPTIONAL PRODUCT SALES[/bc]
PINELLAS PARK, Fla., November 1, 2002 – More than 200 eyecare professionals representing 115 practices from throughout the New York metropolitan area attended a recognition event co-hosted by 21st Century Optics, Transitions Optical and Essilor on Oct. 1.

The event recognized eyecare professionals for participating in a promotion for which they earned $100 in “funny money” for each pair of Transitions®, Varilux® or Crizal® lenses sold from June 1 to Aug. 31. Eyecare professionals who earned at least $2,000 in funny money were invited to the event, “An Evening to Remember,” which took place at Terrace on the Park in Flushing Meadows Park, N.Y.

“We were thrilled with the fabulous turn-out and appreciated the opportunity to work together with our manufacturing partners to wrap up a very successful promotion with an exciting event to further reward our customers for their accomplishments,” said Anthony Fulco, director of sales and marketing, 21st Century Optics.

The casino-themed evening included dinner and dancing, and 10 gambling tables where attendees could press their luck using their funny money. Twenty-four prizes awarded, including a $3,000 dream vacation, won by Stuart Freilich of Dr. Elliot Utrecht’s office in Manhattan.

“The promotion helped reinforce the value of combining the benefits of Transitions®, Crizal® and Varilux® to offer patients a higher-performing lens with advanced progressive performance and the greatest glare control and comfort, both indoors and outdoors, day and night,” said P.J. Downes, director of labs and eyecare professionals, Transitions Optical, Inc. “We were pleased to partner with 21st Century Optics to share this winning combination with eyecare professionals and to support the celebration of their success at the recognition event.”

In addition to Downes, Transitions Solutions Team representatives Johanna DiChiara, Lee Pochter, Shawna Miller and Elisabeth Fuchs; and Samantha Platt, channel marketing manager for North America, were on hand at the event to greet attendees and answer questions about Transitions products and channel support.

“It was nice to be recognized in such a fun way for our success with the promotion,” said Lou Livan of Livan Savino Opticians. “The event also provided an opportunity to learn about the newest promotion from Transitions, the Mystery Shopper Program.”

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Varilux® and Crizal® are registered trademarks of Essilor International, S.A.
Transitions® is a registered trademark of Transitions Optical, Inc.