Good morning, everyone! Welcome to the GOA’s 120th Annual Conference. My name is Dr. Nadine Humen Forche and I am the current GOA President.

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It is my pleasure to welcome you to Hilton Head. First and foremost, thank you. Thank you for choosing the GOA annual meeting for your continuing education. We have doctors here who have been attending our annual meetings for decades and some of you who are here for the first time! To all of you, welcome and I hope you have a wonderful experience, not only in classes, but enjoying the beach and some down time.

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I also look forward to spending time with all of you and your families throughout the weekend. We have a lot of fun activities planned, and the schedule of events can be found inside your registration packet. And if you get a chance, please stop by and say hello to me! I’d love to meet you and hear about ways we can support our doctors.

I’m going to give you a few updates on what the GOA has done this year, as well as thank several people before I introduce our first speaker.

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First, Governor Kemp recently signed Senate Bill 140 into law. This bill enables optometrists to sell medications that we are

allowed to prescribe directly to our patients, except for controlled substances. So, when you have an emergency on a Friday night when all the pharmacies are closed, you will be able to sell a bottle of Besivance or Durezol or whatever to your patient and help them get better faster.

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Since this law will go into effect on July 1, GOA has come up with the required steps you will need to follow when selling medications to your patients and this information is in your packets. In addition, Mr. Aubrey Villines, the GOA General Counsel, will be reviewing this new law and how to comply during his laws and rules class this weekend. We will also work on a webinar for GOA members.

The GOA also began the work on legislation that will allow optometrists to receive cancellable loans if they choose to practice in rural areas. This issue was brought to our attention by a member, and prompted the GOA to start talking to legislators about the issue. This bill was heard in committee last year and we will work to have this bill become law in the 2026 legislative session.

We are also continuing to monitor the concept of a school of optometry here in Georgia. The Georgia House Speaker, Jon Burns, has begun working with the Georgia Board of Regents on next steps. While this is still in the infancy stages, we are pleased to be part of

the conversation and will keep our members informed as we know more.

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Please join me in thanking our legislative team for fighting for optometry at the Capitol. They are: Dr. John Whitlow, our Legislative Chair, Mr. Aubrey Villines, Mr. Jeremy Collins, and our Executive Director, Mr. Bryan Markowitz. They are very well-respected and we could not ask for a better team to represent us. Thank you!

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In addition to representing us at the Capitol, the GOA also deals with third party issues. As many of you know, these issues are never ending, and I want to thank Dr. Stuart Tasman, our Third Party Chair, for tirelessly working to ensure we are properly paid for our services and that we are allowed to join insurance panels as optometrists. In fact, the GOA had to file a complaint with the Georgia Insurance commissioner regarding the insurance plan Oscar, which is a part of the Cigna network, who would not credential optometrists on their medical panel. The Commissioner met with Oscar representatives, who then stated they would comply with the law; however, we are still working to determine if they are in fact, allowing optometrists on their panel. If you have been denied, please let the GOA office know.

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To keep optometry strong in Georgia, we need EVERY optometrist to support GOA-PAC. These funds are essential to support legislators, who then support our bills and our profession. You’ve heard it before and I will say it again: Optometry is a LEGISLATED profession. Legislators make the laws that rule our profession. What we can and cannot do is determined by them. So, become friends with your legislators, or at least get to know them well enough so you can talk to them when your profession needs you. We have a list of legislators in your packets, please look at that list. Maybe your kid plays soccer with their kid, or you go to the same church. If you have a connection, please let us know! Those connections, or relationships as Dr. Whitlow like to call them, are essential at the Capitol.

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Your packet also has a GOA-PAC form. Please give to GOA-PAC! Our new PAC year starts July 1st and I want to thank Dr. Rebecca Briggs Garnier and Dr. Stephen Summerow for being our PAC Chairs this year. If you have already renewed your pledge, thank you! You’ve made their job easier! And you are also enabling the GOA to not only protect our profession, but to also move it forward with future pro-optometry legislation.

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I also want to thank our GOA Partnership Sponsors. The GOA has a strong Partnership Program led by Chair, Dr. Jeannie Perrine,

that supports optometry and our members in many ways. Our partnership funds have allowed us to keep from raising dues for our members since 2017, defray some of the cost of our conferences and allow us to offer many other member benefits. Please thank our partners throughout the weekend and at the exhibit hall on Friday night. I am incredibly thankful for their support of the GOA and our profession.

 

There are several fellow optometrists that have served with me on the Executive Board, who are as passionate about the GOA and optometry as I am. I have leaned on them for support and advice throughout the year and I want to thank all of them for their leadership: President-Elect, Dr. Frank Winski, Secretary, Dr. Lauren Dyak, Treasurer, Dr. Stephen Summerow, Past-President, Dr. Nacondus Gamble, and the Chairperson for the Board of Trustees, Dr. Anisha Haji who is also our Corporate Optometry Chair. You guys are awesome and I couldn’t have done this without you.

But the real heroes in the room are our GOA staff. I cannot tell you how much they do for our members and our profession. We have some of the best staff in the nation. Bryan Markowitz, Vanessa Grosso and Megan Hughes are truly the heart of the GOA. Please give them a round of applause.

 

I’d also like to thank the following doctors for Chairing our GOA Committees this year: Dr. Charlie Ficco, Education Committee Chair, Dr. Erica Morrow, Membership Committee Chair, our Young OD Committee Chairs, Drs. Shundale Mixon and Jessica Patton, our Community Health and PR Committee Chairs, Drs. Joe Rouw and Nadira Shadeed and our Elections/Grassroots Committee Chair, Dr. Julia Harrison. They all gave their time and talent to elevate the GOA and our optometric profession by leading these committees.

When I finish my term as Past-President of the GOA, I will have served this organization for over 20 years. My kids were 3 years old when I became a Trustee and they are now college graduates. They have seen me give back to the profession that has given me so much, and for that, I am very grateful. It has been a true honor to serve as your President and to lead one of the best optometric associations in the nation – the GOA. Thank you for your trust and support this year! Let’s continue to Elevate the Profession of Optometry!