SECO 2023 was held March 1-5 in Atlanta, GA.
photos from seco 2023:
SCO will be sending out informational emails and updates about SECO activities for 2024. If you do not already receive SCO's e-newsletters or other emails, please email [email protected] and request to be added to the mailing list.
About SECO
SECO International, LLC is a wholly owned entity of the Southern Council of Optometrists, Inc. (often referred to with the acronym, SoCO), and is the business name used to identify the annual congress, SECO International, hosted and organized by SoCO each year in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
SoCO is comprised of the state optometric associations of the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The Armed Forces Optometric Society (AFOS) is a valued affiliate member of SoCO.
SoCO is dedicated to promoting organized optometry and education for optometrists world-wide. SECO represents an outlet to accomplish that mission.
SECO Day at SCO
SCO is proud to sponsor SECO Day each fall for students on the SCO campus. During SECO Day, SECO's President or President-Elect is invited to visit campus to speak to students and faculty about the importance of involvement with professional organizations such as SECO International, LLC.
In recent years, SECO's President Elect has presented a check to a fund that enables students to attend the SECO Congress in Atlanta.
Southern College of Optometry is also privileged to award two Southern Council of Optometrists Endowed Scholarships totaling $12,000 to students residing in a Southern Council member state. Selections are based upon competitive GPA, OAT scores, applicant interviews and extracurricular activities. These students must maintain a 3.0 GPA while enrolled at SCO.
SECO's SCO Alumni Leaders
SCO enjoys a proud tradition of alumni involvement at SECO International meetings and within the leadership structure of the organization.
SCO alumni who have served as SECO President include:
1954: Jake Lipscomb, OD ’39
1956: Andrew J. Denman, OD ’49
1959: William E. Terry, OD ’49
1961: Jack Runninger, OD ’47
1963: James F. Loomis, OD ’41
1964: James F. Loomis, OD ’41
1965: Henry V. Sawyer, OD ’50
1967: William D. Sullins, OD ’39
1968: William A. Owensby, OD ’49
1973: J. Gordon Butterfield, OD ’54
1976: Bert O. Miller, OD ’52
1978: Robert Sullivan, OD ’48
1979: Rene Pigeon, OD ’54
1982: James E. Herrington, OD ’60
1983: G. Robert Crosby, OD ’63
1984: John E. Casto, OD ’60
1985: Daniel Houghton, OD ’53
1986: William G. Hendrix, OD ’55
1988: Ernest Schlabach, OD ’69
1989: Robert G. Traylor, OD ’63
1990: Jerry B. Park, OD ’66
1992: Robert W. Lopanik, OD ’73
1994: L. Wayne Brown, OD ’63
1995: Lowell Jones, Jr., OD ’75
1996: Andrew G. Cook, Jr., OD ’81
1998: Don Williamson, OD ’67
1999: Gordon W. Jennings, OD ’81
2000: Robert W. Smalling, OD ’74
2001: Stuart Thomas, OD ’84
2003: William W. Spearman, OD ’82
2004: Richard W. Phillips, OD ’78
2005: Lowell H. Gilbert, OD ’65
2006: Sidney J. Stern, OD ’71
2008: Wilburn Lord, Jr., OD ’77
2009: Jonathan Shrewsbury, OD ’81
2010: Ron Bannister, OD ’77
2013: Darby Chiasson, OD '99
2014: Jim Herman, OD '86
2015: Stan Dickerson, OD ’76
2016: Ted McElroy, OD '93
2021: Max Raynor, OD ’85
2022: Richard Durocher, OD ’96
2023: Christine Cook, OD '98