From Cary Boyd Criss (Dr. Boyd’s daughter): Roger Boyd came from Cambridge to The Ohio State University after serving in the Pacific Theatre of WWII. During optometry school, he was a captain of Epsilon Psi Epsilon’s softball team, which was intramural runner-up in 1951. In the final game of the 1952 tournament, “Rog” contributed by beating out a bunt, stealing second, and scoring the tie-breaking run as the BuckEYEs won the University Championship! Singing lead in the fraternity’s quartet kept his foot in the arts. Roger was eventually president (and later, alumnus chair) of εψε, and yes, he vividly remembers being thrown mid-winter into Mirror Lake!

After receiving his degree in 1952, Roger began his private practice in a two-room building in Fairborn, Ohio. He saw patients in the front and lived in the back. A few moves–and years–later, he’d created quite a large practice, giving seven optometry graduates their career starts along the way. In 1963, Governor Rhodes appointed Roger to the Ohio State Board of Optometry, where he served two terms and was president for three years. In 1968, he was Ohio Optometrist of the Year and the Ohio State Optometry Alumnus of the Year. Roger was a trustee of the Ohio Optometric Association, board member of the International Association of Optometry, and chairman of the Legal Affairs committee of the American Academy of Optometry.

Somehow, Roger managed to raise a family in Fairborn. A daughter and two sons were educated in Buckeye tradition. His granddaughter now has the privilege of being Dr. Michael Earley’s patient, and she always finds Papaw’s picture in the basement of Fry Hall! The Boyd family loves to talk about their annual Canada fishing trips and have hilarious, wonderful memories of “being in the boonies!” Roger’s greatest sporting thrill was catching a 21-pound muskie on an 8-pound test line. In time, he became president of the local chapter of the Ohio State Alumni Association, president of the Fairborn Lions Club, president of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church congregation, and president of the Fairborn Civic Music Association. He loved playing tennis and is a life master in bridge.

Dr. Boyd is most remembered by his colleagues as a different breed of optometrist. He led the way for optometry to establish and maintain a professional, non-commercial image as it matured to its vital eyecare status of today. Roger subscribed to the highest ethical principles, and the best interests of his patients always came first. Caring for and getting to know generations of families has been one of his greatest joys. When Roger retired in 1999, after 47 years of service, the Fairborn Daily Herald said that whatever chapter comes next, “the outfielders will be playing him deep.” He just completed his Honor Flight for WWII service.

Dr. Henry obtained both his Doctor of Optometry and his Master of Science Degrees from The Ohio State University College of Optometry in 1998. Upon graduation, he joined James Hermann, OD in a private practice in Pickerington, Ohio, and in 2001 Dr. Henry proudly became a full partner at Hermann & Henry Eyecare. Dr. Henry is a Clinical Assistant Professor as well as a Primary Care Extern Preceptor for The Ohio State University College of Optometry. Dr. Henry has a true passion for educating others and speaks nationally and has published numerous articles on topics related to Electronic Health Records, paperless practices, technology, e-prescribing, PQRS (PQRI), and ocular disease. Dr. Henry was the first optometrist in the nation to use optometric software for e-prescribing. He is very proud to have co-written three national lecture series and lectured to more than 12,000 optometrists and optometric staff members over the past few years. Most exciting though is that Dr. Henry was lucky enough to meet his wonderful wife Dr. Julie Henry while in optometry school. She is currently the chief of the Eye Services at the Columbus Veterans Outpatient Clinic. When not lecturing or taking care of patients, the Drs. Henry can almost always be found with their two children Jacob (10) and Jillian (8).

Dr. Thimons is a 1978 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Optometry. He completed his hospital residency at the Chillicothe, VA Medical Center in 1979, after which he served as Chief of the Optometry Service there until 1985. He then accepted the position of Center Director at Omni Eye Services, Fairfax, Virginia and served in that role until 1989 when he became Chairman, Department of Clinical Sciences. While at SUNY he developed The Glaucoma Institute at the State University of New York, a glaucoma clinical research center, and served as its first Director. In 1998, Dr. Thimons accepted the position of Executive Director of TLC and served in that role until 2002 when he co-founded Ophthalmic Consultants of Connecticut, a multidisciplinary referral practice providing secondary and tertiary level care. Dr. Thimons has received numerous awards for his service to the profession and has over 200 hundred publications in the area of ocular disease management. He is a nationally and internationally acclaimed speaker and educator and an acknowledged leader in ophthalmic clinical education. He has professorial appointments at several universities in the US and has been a clinical investigator in over 20 NIH, NEI, and Post Release Clinical Trials. In 1999, he was awarded Optometry’s Top Educator and was selected as one of the Top Ten ODs of the decade. In 2002, he founded the National Glaucoma Society, a not-for-profit organization with Executive offices in Andover, Massachusetts, that provides educational and clinical development services to primary care clinicians worldwide in the area of glaucoma. In 2005 he was inducted into the Oklahoma Optometry Hall of Fame and has recently served as President of the Connecticut Association of Optometrists.

I have always enjoyed helping people. In 1972 I founded a program through my church called Work and Witness. In the early years I traveled with 15 teams to Haiti to give free eye exams and care to Haitians. From this beginning I have now coordinated and traveled on over 65 trips around the world helping in any way needed to work and witness to how Christ can change a life and make life worth living.

I have served my church, Shepherd Church of the Nazarene, in many capacities from the local church to the worldwide denomination. I now enjoy helping with mowing and trimming the church property. I also enjoy music from playing the organ in the past, to singing in the choir now. For the past 45 years I have faithfully worked out at a gym, and in the summer months enjoy riding my bike on the many beautiful trails around Columbus. I am blessed with good health and will soon reach the age of 86.

This past March an 18,000 sq. ft. facility was dedicated in my honor in Frome, Jamaica. You can learn more about the Gamertsfelder Medical Center at www.missionofsight.org.

Dr. Gary Orsborn is Senior Director, Global Professional Relations at CooperVision. He received his Doctor of Optometry degree in 1983 and a Master’s of Science in Physiological Optics in 1985 from The Ohio State University College of Optometry. Gary has worked in the contact lens industry since 1985 in the U.S., Latin America, and Europe, where his responsibilities have included worldwide professional relations, medical affairs, clinical research, and marketing of vision care products. Gary is a Fellow of both the American Academy of Optometry and of the British Contact Lens Association and is a member of the American Optometric Association and of the Association of Research and Vision in Ophthalmology. Gary and his wife, Suyan, live with their daughter in Rochester, New York where they are active in the community’s Landmark Society.

The professional life of Dr. James R. Scholles has been both exciting and fulfilling. One of the first to have both optometry and law degrees, Dr. Scholles has been “where the action is” working with many of the distinguished leaders in optometry, including Drs. Irvin Borish, Irving Bennett, Timothy Kime, David Sullins, Melvin Shipp, Fred Hebbard, Ruth and Warren Morris, and many others. He has served as President of the Ohio and American Optometric Associations. He has lectured and written extensively about clinicolegal subjects. He has testified before the US Congress on behalf of the optometry relative to Medicare co-management and in the hearings of the Federal Trade Commission on “Eyeglasses 2.” He served for six years and chaired the Legal and Ethical Issues Committee of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry. He was a founding member and first President of Diversified Ophthalmics, Inc., a buying group that enhanced the buying power of independent optometrists and President of Preferred Eyecare Providers, a preferred provider organization that has achieved access to local insurance panels in South Western Ohio for Optometrists to provide diagnostic and treatment services. Dr. Scholles has helped to design strategies for the profession as a member and chairman of two long-range planning committees of the American Optometric Association as the profession expanded its scope of practice. He is still active in both his optometry and legal practices and says he is at his best helping his patients care for their eyes and counseling his optometric constituents about practice issues. Dr. Scholles remains humbled by his good fortune to have had the tireless support of his wife, Barbara, his family, his practice associates, Dr. David Wert (OD’71) and Dr. Philip Jutte (OD’07), his office staff, The Ohio State University College of Optometry and the community of Ohio optometrists.

Roy U. Ebihara, OD FAAO is a past recipient of the Ohio Optometric Association’s Warren G. and Ruth P. Morris Optometrist of the Year Award in 1993. He has many memberships and affiliations like Past President of the Lorain County Optometric Society, Past President and life member of the Ohio State Optometry Alumni Association, Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH), and a Fellow in the American Academy of Optometry. His professional service includes: VOSH Eye Care Missions in Honduras, School Vision Consultant for Lorain County, Founder of the OOA Contact Lens Committee and a presenter of the OOA’s RealEyes program. Dr. Ebihara retired from practice in 1992 and is currently a consultant for the Cleveland Clinic. His community and civic activities include Oberlin NAACP, Chamber of Commerce, Lions Club, Salvation Army, Metro Parks and guest lectures at University of Akron, Lorain County Community College, and Grand Valley State University.

Dr. Ebihara has always felt that, as a healthcare provider, there is a need to provide humanitarian service beyond the office door. Once he retired, he provided eyecare at the County Free Clinic and joined Ohio VOSH in eye care mission to remote areas. Doing those meaningful things have allowed Dr. Ebihara to put together a satisfying closure to his professional career without regrets.

It is a great honor to be selected a Notable Alumnus. When I graduated from The Ohio State University College of Optometry in 1992, I didn’t realize then how proud I would be to be an alumnus of such a great program and how much I would love this profession. My career has been nothing that I had envisioned. The Lord blessed me with the opportunity to be President of the Ohio Optometric Association (OOA) in 2005, and, through many committees in both the OOA and AOA, I have made lasting relationships with great men and women, many who serve this profession much more than I do. Serving on the EastWest Eye Conference Education Committee and doing contact lens research are two areas that are unexpected professional challenges that keep me motivated to stay at the forefront of technology. I was also greatly humbled to receive the OOA Young Optometrist of the Year Award (2001), the AOA Young Optometrist of the Year Award (2002), the AOA’s Admiral Sullins InfantSee Award (2007), and OOA’s Warren G. and Ruth P. Morris Optometrist of the Year Award (2012).

Serving my patients is one of the deepest satisfactions I have every day. Being a part of their lives and earning their trust is such a privilege. I have eight wonderful optometric partners and enjoy practicing alongside my wife. Being in group private practice and a business owner has been so satisfying. Serving God as an elder at my church and singing during service hopefully glorifies Him. I am truly blessed with raising three wonderful children with Amy and still having time to golf, travel, and train for the annual Pelotonia bicycle tour.

Greg DeNaeyer is a 1998 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Optometry. He completed a hospital-based residency at the Columbus VA Medical Center. Greg practices at Arena Eye Surgeons in Columbus, Ohio with an emphasis on specialty contact lenses.

Greg was a co-founder and past president of the Scleral Lens Education Society and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry. He is a contributing editor for Contact Lens Spectrum and a contributor to Review of Cornea and Contact Lenses and Optometric Management. Greg has lectured internationally on specialty contact lenses and was the 2013 Gas Permeable Lens Institute practitioner of the year. Currently his primary research is focused on scleral lens design.

Greg is married to Beth Travis DeNaeyer and they have two boys, Ethan (10) and Drew (6). He enjoys attending his boys’ sporting events, fly fishing, and reading.