My father, Irving Bennett, was the first publisher and editor of Optometric Management (OM) from 1965 to 1981. He and 3 others (Mel Goldberg, Jay Gubitz, and Bob Phillips, OD) purchased the then dying magazine from Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
I think this was kismet, as one of his last editorials as editor of the Journal of the American Optometric Association (JAOA) suggested that optometric college curricula include practice and business management courses, and that the American Optometric Association assist in this endeavor. Additionally, my father had personally experienced the need for optometrists to have business acumen, having, for instance, struggled with where on the wide main street of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, to place his practice.
Goldberg, editor of the dentistry magazine, Dental Management, had read his JAOA editorial, and Optometric Management thrived with the help of Gubitz, a graphic designer, and Bob Phillips, OD, who oversaw advertising.
Highlights of my father’s years at OM include:
- “Dear Judi,” the first column for paraoptometric personnel.
- Practice management seminars.
- Founding OptiFair, the predecessor to Vision Expo.
Getting the publication off the ground was hard work for my father, but what the magazine achieved and the enjoyment he experienced while working on it made it all worthwhile.
Happy 60th anniversary, OM!
