Graduating Dispensers and High Performers Celebrated

Hosted by Optical Dispensers Australia and the Australasian College of Optical Dispensers, in Melbourne, the evening’s guest of honour was Lisa Wymond, co-owner, director, and National Brands Manager of Eyes Right Optical, Modstyle, Morel Australasia and Sunglass Collective.

In Perth, the guest of honour was Donald Crichton, former President of the Association of Dispensing Opticians of New Zealand, Board member and immediate Past President of the International Opticians Association.

A Family Legacy

Ms Wymond’s grandfather, John Hill, began his career as an optical mechanic and dispenser grinding lenses in Melbourne before moving into sales management at a Melbourne-based frame manufacturer. He later became a sales agent for Safilo, where he launched what Ms Wymond described as an “absolute tank” –the ‘elasta’ that became iconic for its near-indestructible construction.

It was through Safilo that the Wymond family’s second generation entered the picture. When the company sought a young, fashionable representative to introduce an emerging luxury brand to Australian consumers in the 1990s, it was Ms Wymond’s mother, Gaye, who stepped forward. She successfully launched Gucci eyewear across the southern states of Australia – at a time when the brand was relatively unknown locally and, as Ms Wymond quipped to laughter from the room, “many called it Gucky.”

Inspired by the beauty of eyewear – “jewellery for the face,” as Ms Wymond put it  -Gaye and her husband David made the pivotal decision in 1992 to attend MIDO, the international eyewear trade fair in Milan. To fund the trip, David leveraged his connections in the furniture industry, commissioning coffee tables shaped like a pair of glasses – some of which, Ms Wymond noted, can still be found in optical practices today.

At MIDO, the couple discovered a colourful, distinctive eyewear brand unlike anything available in the Australian market, and struck up what would become a lifelong friendship with brand representative Nadine Roth – who went on to found FACE A FACE Paris. Using the entirety of their spending money for the trip, Gaye and David purchased a single sample set and brought it home. Eyes Right Optical was born.

the future of our profession, energised, qualified, and ready to make a tangible difference… Never underestimate the impact of a perfectly fitted spectacles or the clarity you restore to the patient’s world

From Family Lounge to National Presence

What began with one bookcase in the family living room and a babysitter making post office runs with armfuls of orders has grown into one of Australia’s largest optical wholesalers, distributing more than 20 eyewear brands – including FACE A FACE Paris, ProDesign Denmark, Morel, Avanti, Bolle and Serengeti – across Australia and New Zealand, with a team of 43 staff.

Ms Wymond herself joined the business in 2010, armed with a degree in product development and merchandising, and experience working at independent optometrists and in wholesale fashion. She started as a sales representative before progressing to her current leadership role. In 2019, she and her brother Mark purchased Eyes Right Optical from their parents.

Celebrating Dispensers’ Difference

Drawing on her vantage point as a wholesale supplier, Ms Wymond spoke about the tangible, industry-wide impact of qualified dispensing. From her perspective on both sides of the counter, she said the value of proper training is not merely academic – it flows through to patient outcomes, practice efficiency, and the broader supply chain.

“We see the difference qualified dispensers make,” she told the room. “A qualified dispenser will help choose the best frame and lenses to suit their patients’ wants and needs. Getting this right the first time leads to happy patients.”

The downstream benefits, she shared, are equally significant and include fewer questionable warranty claims, since a competent dispenser can handle adjustments and repairs with confidence, and fewer lens remakes, since the correct lens is selected from the outset.

But for Ms Wymond, the role of the dispenser extends well beyond the technical. “As dispensers, you’re not only helping people see – you’re making them look fantastic. This is the beauty of our industry. We’re a health-based industry that is driven by fashion.

“You’re really making a huge difference in all of your patients’ lives and their confidence levels in rocking that new pair of frames,” she added.

Typically, the first face a patient encounters on arrival and the last on departure, Ms Wymond said dispensers “set the tone for the practice and the patient’s experience. Patients won’t always remember what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel.”

She encouraged the new graduates to lean into that power deliberately and joyfully. “Have fun with your role. Make your practice a place that the patient looks forward to visiting.”

The rewards, she suggested, go beyond professional satisfaction. “The rapport building not only leads to loyal patients, but can lead to lifelong friendships with colleagues, patients, and suppliers alike” – a truth she noted her own family had lived firsthand over three decades in the industry.

Mr Crichton commenced his career in optics in Scotland. He worked in independent practice in Scotland and the Southeast of England, and in corporate practice in central Scotland before moving to New Zealand where he worked in independent and corporate practice, as a sales manager with HOYA, and coaching final year students in the art of dispensing at University of Auckland. He was the NZ Operations Manager for EssilorLuxottica before relocating to Perth where he has joined the leadership team of Opticare.

Discovering the Intersection Between Healthcare and Fashion

Mr Chrichton said he fell into optical dispensing while job hunting, without realising what the role involved. Being employed as a trainee dispenser, he found “the perfect blend of technical precision, healthcare and fashion and the satisfaction of solving a human problem while building relations. That drive to find the right solution for the person in front of me is what has sustained me for all these years”.

Mr Chrichton emphasised the important role of qualified optical dispensers in optometry practices.

Congratulating the graduates, he said those in the room were “the future of our profession, energised, qualified, and ready to make a tangible difference… Never underestimate the impact of a perfectly fitted spectacles or the clarity you restore to the patient’s world.”

Award Winners

The 2025 ACOD Certificate IV in Optical Dispensing award recipients were:

• First in Course: Nina Beauchamp
• Second in Course: Rochelle Middleton
• Third in Course: Gavin Long
• Special Achievement Award: Emilee Pedder.

The ODA National Excellence Award winners were:

2026 Rookie of the Year Award:

Trainee Optical Dispenser from George & Matilda Eyecare, Noela Prasad

2026 Role Model and Leadership Award:

Retail Partner at Specsavers Devonport, Robert Cockerell

2026 Support Professional of the Year Award:

Customer Service Team Assistant Manager at HOYA Lens Australia, Amelia Crulli

2026 Community Champion Award:

Optical Dispenser at The Optical Co. and Trainer at ACOD, Nicole Grasso

2026 Outstanding Practice Owner Award:

Owner of See Side Optical Thirroul, Sonya Broadhead

2026 ODA National Medal for Optical Dispensing Excellence:

Manager at Teachers Eye Care Parramatta, Lyn Simeon

​2026 CEO’s Member Dedication Award:

Optical Dispenser and Rodenstock Sales Representative, Gladys Mac

2026 Exceptional Practice Team Award:

Lake and Valley Optical in NSW

The evenings were sponsored by Zeiss Vision Care, HOYA Lens Australia, Rodenstock, Safilo, EyeBenefit, and Specsavers. HOYA generously covered graduation tickets for all attending students.