IOA president Donald Crichton and immediate past president Fiona Anderson

Long-time International Opticians’ Association (IOA) president Fiona Anderson handed over the presidency baton at the inaugural Silmo Singapore event to Auckland-based Donald Crichton, a fellow of the Association of British Dispensing Opticians and former president of the Association of Dispensing Opticians of New Zealand (ADONZ).

Crichton took the opportunity to address members at the Silmo Academy by IOA in Singapore. It’s an honour to lead an association with such a rich history which forms an important part of the profession, he said. “The IOA has strong relationships with well-established associations and can assist with the growth of new professional groups in places not traditionally serviced by a formal board representing dispensing opticians. I look forward to assisting in these areas. With so many opportunities to engage and work with our membership it is an exciting time to work collaboratively and grow the association.”

Beginning his optics career in 1986 in Edinburgh, Scotland, as a glazing technician, Crichton qualified as a dispensing optician through the Association of British Dispensing Opticians in 1993. In 2004, dispensing opticians were on the New Zealand skills shortage list, allowing him to take a job in Takapuna, Auckland, he said.

More recently Crichton completed an honours degree in vision science and has taken up a role with the University of Auckland’s School of Optometry and Vision Science as a supervisor, mentoring final-year optometry students and coaching them in the art of dispensing. A long-standing member of ADONZ, Crichton was also made a freeman of the UK’s Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers in 1994.