​On June 6th, Conexus’ newest board members, Dennis Mayo, Director of Programs and Operations, Essilor Vision Foundation, and Danny Singer, VP Eastern Region Lab Operations, VSP made their first trip to the Conexus headquarters in Richmond, VA. 

Mayo and Singer flew in to participate in their first board meeting and the 25th Annual Conexus Golf Classic, which netted more than $105,000 in support of Conexus’ comprehensive children’s vision programs. The two spent the following day touring the recently renovated Conexus headquarters and spending time with Conexus senior staff to learn more about the organization and how their new roles on the Board can help to expand the reach of Conexus, both in geographic service to children and within the vision industry.

“Bringing representation of two industry giants to the Conexus Board is an important growth initiative of the organization,” says Tim Gresham, Conexus President and CEO.  “Inviting Dennis and Danny to the Board seemed like a natural fit.  VSP has long supported the work of Conexus through their Sight for Students voucher program, and recently Conexus has had the privilege of partnering with Essilor Vision Foundation on two significant children’s vision initiatives in Virginia.” 

​“Danny and Dennis bring insight that can broaden our perspective and our reach, and they each represent unique qualities as individuals and professionals that will continue to strengthen and diversify our board,” says Ed Greene, Conexus Board member and former President of The Vision Council.  Greene, who uses his expertise to guide the strategic planning process of the organization, views Mayo and Singer as “real assets to the organization as we move forward to expand our mission.”

In March of 2016, Conexus opened its first ever statewide application process for Virginia schools to request scholarship funding for VisioCheck programming.   The window for the application was just a little over three weeks.  In that time, requests were made for over 40,000 students.  Initially, scholarship funding was available for 20,000 students; however, with the overwhelming request coupled with the tremendous success of the 25th Annual Golf Classic, Conexus was able to increase scholarship funding for up to 32,000 students.  We are pleased to announce the list of school divisions that will bring VisioCheck to their students this fall:

The 25th Annual Conexus Classic was held on Monday, June 6, 2016 at the beautiful Hermitage Country Club in Manakin-Sabot, VA.  With a sold out 54-team field playing on both courses at the prestigious Hermitage, the day was another great success in the long history of this premier corporate golf outing.  Net proceeds from the event are estimated at $105,000, making a great impact on Conexus and our children’s vision programs.
 
Again this year, the event’s success is owed in no small part to the Tournament Committee Chairman John Locher, Principal at Taylor & Parrish, the event’s Presenting Sponsor.  Each year, John works tirelessly to gain support for the event and our organization, actively recruiting committee members, teams, and other sponsors.  As a reflection of his commitment to Conexus and the Golf Classic, 19 teams now hold the status of Locher Legacy Member, sponsoring a team in the tournament for at least seven consecutive years.  John has been Chairman of the tournament committee for 14 years, and we look forward to another incredible event under his leadership and support on June 5 of next year.  Click here to learn more about the Conexus Classic.

Tim Gresham, Conexus President and CEO, was honored to receive an invitation to participate in the Virginia Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons (VSEPS) 2016 Annual June Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia. In addition to attending the event, Gresham presented at the VSEPS Board of Directors meeting where he provided an update on the organization’s transition as well as programmatic developments. While there, he also shared information about the 2020Club, which is Conexus’ new monthly giving program.  Members of VSEPS and their guests who joined the 2020Club at the conference were also entered into an exciting raffle to win one of our beautiful bronze Remington’s, donated earlier this year by Cultural Patina. 
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Pictured top right, Dr. Suzanne Everheart, incoming VSEPS President, speaks to the VSEPS membership and shares her support of the 2020Club promoting the professional benefits of supporting Conexus’ programs. Pictured bottom right, Tim and Gracie Gresham, award the Remington Bronze to one of our newest 2020Club members, Cal Whitehead of Whitehead Consulting.  Congratulations Cal, thanks to Chrissy Canaday, VSEPS Executive Director and Dr. Everheart for the gracious hospitality, and thank you to the newest members of the 2020Club!  We are proud to partner with you to improve children’s vision programming in Virginia.