ESSILOR WELCOMES PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER TO 105TH ANNUAL AOA CONGRESS
FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT TO ADDRESS OPTOMETRISTS AT OPENING GENERAL SESSION

AOA CONGRESS, NEW ORLEANS - (June 26, 2002) – Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter will kick-off the 105th Annual American Optometric Association (AOA) Congress at its opening general session. This exciting keynote speaker appearance is made possible through a sponsorship by Essilor of America, Inc. (EOA).

“The timing of hearing the words of Jimmy Carter could not be better,” said Hubert Sagnières, president of Essilor of America. “Carter’s foreign policy influence through his non-profit organization, the Carter Center - and his humanitarian influence through organizations such as Habitat for Humanity – are impressive accomplishments and achievements.”

Essilor of America, Inc. (Essilor) is a subsidiary of Paris-based Essilor International, S.A., a publicly held company traded on the Bourse (Symbol: ESI).

Essilor is the leading manufacturer of optical lenses in the United States and founding partner of VisionWebSM, www.visionweb.com, which is creating the world's largest eyecare network. An industry pioneer in the development and production of ophthalmic lenses, Essilor is the market leader in progressive, high-index and anti-reflective coated lenses. The company manufactures optical lenses under the Varilux®, Crizal®, Airwear® and Essilor brand names.

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Varilux&reg, Airwear &regand Crizal &reg are registered trademarks of Essilor International, S.A.
VisionWeb(SM) is a service mark of VisionWeb, Inc.