By Denis Langlois

Eyecare professionals gathered in Toronto in September for an Essilor Canada Alive Summit and Roadshow event at Westin Harbour Castle.

The daytime Alive Summit, an exclusive event for Varilux Xperience partners and their teams, featured four segments with four different speakers.

Martin Lesperance, Director of Training and Development at Essilor Canada kicked things off with a morning session in which he used his story of becoming a marathon runner, despite seemingly insurmountable odds, to show and motivate attendees that it is possible to “achieve the impossible.”

Mohamed Charfi of Mercedes Canada wrapped up the morning portion of the schedule with a talk about the automobile company’s history and how Mercedes sells innovation in a premium marketplace.

Optometrist Dr. Justin Bazan speaks to the audience at the Alive Summit about how to promote their optical offices on social media.

Optometrist Dr. Justin Bazan of Brooklyn, New York, then provided participants with tips, tricks, strategies and examples on how to promote their optical offices and increase business through the use of social media, particularly Facebook. He also spoke about how to engage with prospective and current clients on social media and how to attract new customers using social media.

Essilor Canada Alive Summit and Roadshow.

Paul Thurman of Columbia University was the final speaker of the day. He discussed how to create a winning team and manage its success.

The Roadshow in the evening, which ran from 5:30 to 11 p.m. and was open to all independent eyecare professionals and their teams, included a cocktail supper and information on Essilor Canada’s latest innovations for Varilux, Crizal and Transitions.

The highlight of the evening program was a presentation, called The Power of Generations, by internationally acclaimed speaker Jason Dorsey. The best-selling author and Millennials research specialist explained how to address the challenges each generation presents to eyecare practices.

Pictured are some images from the Essilor Canada Alive Summit and Roadshow.