From October 14 to 16, Cleinman hosted its first Canadian-based Performance Network Meeting at Rimrock Resort and The Banff Centre for Arts in Banff, Alberta.
More than 150 people gathered in the small mountain town. The group included practice owners, optometrists, optical managers, opticians, eye care industry partners, and the entire Cleinman Team, including Al Cleinman.
This meeting carried special meaning for the entire team. Al Cleinman delivered the keynote at his final Cleinman Performance Network (CPN) Meeting, as he moves into retirement. He announced Annelies Calnan as Director of Practice Transitions, a role he has been mentoring her to take over for the past year.
During his keynote speech, titled “Muddling Through: Lessons From My 55 Years in the Eyecare Business” Al shared, “You don’t need to know exactly where you’re going to accomplish something extraordinary. You simply need the courage to begin. Be curious. Question conventional wisdom. Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you, and then give them the responsibility and authority to succeed.” He concluded his message, “Recognize the possibilities in front of you. Have the courage to pursue them. Help the people around you discover theirs. And wherever this wonderful profession takes you from there – choose to be uncommon.”
Al presented the final Cleinman Founders Award to Amanda Van Voris, a long-time Business Consultant with Cleinman.
Industry Insights and Peer Collaboration
Other programming during this landmark CPN Meeting included Salim Dharsee, Director of Operations for Marketing4ECPs, who presented a session titled “Demystifying AI.” Nancy Dewald hosted the second iteration of “The Innovation Hub,” where attendees hear about a product or service and then break down its cost, effectiveness, and scalability in their practices. Members experienced the signature Peer-to-Peer Wisdom Sharing format Cleinman is known for. Sharing real decisions, openly and generously, so peers can move forward with experiential knowledge on similar ownership challenges.
This meeting also marked the beginning of a series of awards Cleinman is offering to members, The Excellence Awards, which follow their 6 Pillars of Business Health: Clarity, People, Scorecard, Alignment, Execution, and Momentum. Dr. Landon Wallace of East Memphis Optometry received the first Excellence Award in the People category, and the incredible teams at McCulley Optix Gallery and Riverside Family Eye Care were named finalists.
Cleinman have hosted this event in such an incredible location and announced during the closing message that the next meeting would be taking place April 7-9, 2027, in San Antonio, Texas.
