Southwest Council of Optometry

InterContinental Hotel, Dallas, Texas

UPDATE: Octotober 2012

With a mixture of pride and nostalgia, the Southwest Council of Optometry announces that its most recent educational conference held this past September will be its last.

The Southwest Council was born from the realization that there was a need for access to better quality Continuing Education in the region.  After years of effort by optometric visionaries such as Drs. B.D. Cope and Donald Montgomery, among others, the Southwest Council held its first annual educational conference in 1975.  Since that time, the Southwest Council’s affairs have been overseen by a volunteer Board of optometrists whose members were drawn from Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.  The Southwest Council’s mission was “to bring together an annual Educational Congress of optometrists of the southwest states and other interested states for the benefit of the public health and advancement of the professions of optometry.”  More than thirty-five years later, the Southwest Council has fulfilled its mission.

During its tenure, the Southwest Council has provided the highest quality educational opportunities to well over ten thousand optometrists on the most important topics and issues of the day.  The Southwest Council’s approach has served as a model for numerous educational conferences which now benefit optometrists throughout the country.  The Southwest Council’s impact on the optometric profession can also be measured by the regular movement of its Board members into prominent leadership roles within the American Optometric Association.

The Southwest Council wishes to express its deepest gratitude to the thousands of optometrists who have attended its annual educational conferences, as well as its sincere appreciation to the countless sponsors, exhibitors, and volunteers who helped make these educational conferences a success for well over three decades.  The Southwest Council also wishes to thank the American Optometric Association, as well as the regional state associations and boards, for their contributions to the advancement of the profession through the annual State Leaders Meeting which became a part of the Southwest Council’s educational conferences.  Finally, the Southwest Council wishes to extend its gratitude to the various schools and colleges of optometry for their contributions to both the past educational conferences and future of the optometric profession.

With regards,

Board of Trustees

Southwest Council of Optometry

TelScreen's own Pat Harris with one of our 2012 Conference TelScreen ER-8 Slitlamp Winners. Special thanks to TelScreen for providing 2 of these excellent Grand Prizes!

2012 SWCO Board Members

Our second "Grand Prize" winner of the TelScreen ER-8 Slitlamp.