Posts tagged with Our Team

Our newest series "Meet Our Team" has introduced you to our C.O.O. Clint Worley, our Account Manager Laura Mills, and our Finance Manager Susanna Burt. This week we are featuring our Director of Sales, Pete Ervin!

What was your experience with eye health before starting with Focus Vitamins? I was a Territory Manager for Synergetics/Baush + Lomb Retina for the Mid-Atlantic region. Sold instruments, laser probes, lasers and other capital equipment and disposables into the OR. What was your first job?  Custom fitted disabled folks (para and quadriplegics/pediatric and adults) for wheelchairs and seating systems.  What city/state do you call home? I was born in Washington D.C. but grew up in the Hyattsville/College Park area. For the last 20 years I have lived in Huntingtown and Owings Maryland northern part of Calvert County. Do you prefer your vacation to be at the beach, in the mountains, or in a city? Beach vacation but have enjoyed the mountains a fair amount of time too. What is your favorite quote? “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." - Eleanor Roosevelt What is your ideal Saturday? Mostly spending time with our four kids in the various sports they participate in. Meal times and traveling or visiting friends and or family.   What person, alive or deceased, would you most want to have dinner with?  Both my deceased parents. In particular my father because he had a unique way of approaching things in life due to his studies and influence studying to be a Catholic Jesuit priest for a year in his early adult life. He would always joke with me and my five other siblings about why he and my mom had 6 kids…cheap child labor to do all the chores around the house and yard. It’s true!! My mom was a saint in raising me and my three brothers and two sisters---she always seemed to put us first when it came to buying clothes or having a little something extra for you when heading out to a party or gathering with friends-lots of patience!!!. They must have done something right because we all still like each other and gather together for several events throughout the year to celebrate various events in life. Lots of great memories. Thanks mom & dad-you were and will always be the best.

Our team at Focus Vision Supplements regularly travels to conferences so we can meet retina specialists, opthalmologists, and optometrists as they learn more about their trade. We recently traveled to San Francisco for the annual conference of ASRS, the American Society of Retina Specialists. We were also able to reconnect with many of our retina specialists that make up Covalent Medical, LLC. In October we'll be headed to Chicago for the annual conference of AAO, the American Academy of Opthalmology. We'll have samples and giveaways available - stop by our booth if you're planning to attend! 

Before we learn more about Focus Vision Supplements, let's first get to know Covalent Medical, LLC. Covalent Medical was started by a group of over 400 retina specialists from across the United States. These physicians come from some of the most prestigious retina centers in the country. They are members of the American Society of Retina Specialists, the Retina Society, and other highly regarded retina specialist organizations. As macular degeneration (AMD) experts, they treat hundreds of thousands of patients annually, have participated in important research studies of new treatments for macular degeneration, and have collectively written many scientific papers on macular degeneration. Covalent Medical was started by these leading physicians to offer a trusted, physician-recommended, high-quality supplement for their patients. Now Focus Vision Supplements and their great products are available to the general public.

Our vision is to define and be recognized as the standard for protecting your precious gift of ocular health. Our mission is to provide quality vision supplement products to our customers and consumers, by utilizing our powerful physician network, our outstanding product value, and our world-class customer service.

Our newest series "Meet Our Team" has introduced you to our C.O.O. Clint Worley and our Account Manager Laura Mills. This week we are featuring our Finance Manager, Susanna Burt!

What was your experience with eye health before starting with Focus Vitamins? My experience with eye health has been primarily personal. I wear glasses for reading and computer usage throughout the day. What was your first job?  I come from a family that places a lot of value on hard work. I was always involved with family businesses in some capacity from a young age. My first paid job was planting thousands of palm trees for my father's plant nursery. My first "real" job was as a waitress for Shoney's restaurant. What city/state do you call home? I have been lucky in my life to call some beautiful places home: South Florida, East Tennessee, and now Virginia. I was born and raised in Miami and in the Florida Keys, so I am a sunshine state girl through and through. Do you prefer your vacation to be at the beach, in the mountains, or in a city? Beach, mountains, then the city in that order. What is your favorite quote? "Whatever you are, be a good one." and "Courage is grace under pressure." What is your ideal Saturday? Spending the day with my daughter, then cooking dinner at home and relaxing with a glass of wine. Any time spent with my family leaves me refreshed and recharged. It is how I stay balanced. What person, alive or deceased, would you most want to have dinner with?  My mother when she was my age. She has been one of the greatest teachers in my life and I think it would be fascinating to have a conversation with her younger self.

One of the best parts of our job is getting to know our customers and their stories. Now is your chance to get to know us! Last week we met our Chief Operations Officer, Clint Worley. This week we are featuring our newest addition to the team: Laura Mills, our Account Manager.

What was your experience with eye health before starting with Focus Vitamins? I have no previous professional experience in eye health, but I have a great deal of personal experience. My maternal and paternal family lines all have poor vision and eye health issues. We all began wearing corrective lenses at a young age and my grandparents had cataract and other eye issues as they grew older.  Knowing I have a strong disposition for eye health issues, I am doing what I can now to preserve and protect my vision as best I can.  I underwent Lasik corrective eye surgery when I was 27 years old and it was one of the best investments I have ever made. I am very thankful to be working with Focus Vitamins so I can learn even more about the best nutrition to preserve my vision.  What was your first job?  When I was 14, my friends and I had early work permits so we could work for a costume store in our area. Our job was to dress up in a ridiculous costume and hold a sign on the side of a major road. We made minimum wage and got to dress up in fun costumes – what more could a teenager ask for?  What city/state do you call home? I was born, raised, and still live in Manassas, Virginia. I’m a 4th generation Virginian with strong ties to the Piedmont and Appalachian areas, but my heart will always be in Manassas. A close second would be the great state of Texas where I attended the University of North Texas.   Do you prefer your vacation to be at the beach, in the mountains, or in a city? I love traveling to cities. My idea of relaxation is to go to museums, explore historic places, and see live performances. New York City is my go-to destination.  What is your favorite quote? “My hope still is to leave the world a bit better than when I got here.” – Jim Henson “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” – Fred Rogers What is your ideal Saturday? My ideal Saturday would be sleeping in, going to the Farmer’s Market, then coming home and grilling on the deck while my daughters run around the backyard.  What person, alive or deceased, would you most want to have dinner with?  Jim Henson is a man that demonstrated incredible innovation and attention to detail, all while being a humble leader. I’ve been a life-long fan of the Muppets and all of his creations. He died when I was only 5 years old but he will forever be a major influence in my life.

We love that our product promotes healthy vision for those with AMD, dry eye, and other vision related issues. One of the best parts of our job is getting to know our customers and their stories. We have the unique opportunity to form relationships with our doctors and their patients. Now we wanted to give you the opportunity to get to know us in our new series: “Meet Our Team”. First in our series is our Chief Operations Officer, Clint Worley. What was your experience with eye health before starting with Focus Vitamins? None what so ever. I come from a global operations background, that has allowed me to leverage that knowledge in the eye health industry. The best news is that I am surrounded by employees and partners that are some of the most hardworking and respected individuals in the retina community, and that helps a lot. We all learn from each other and complement each other’s skillsets nicely. What was your first job? My first job was when I was 16. I worked at a local golf course, driving the range picker and cleaning golf carts during the afternoon hours. The best part of the job was the benefit of free golf whenever I wasn’t working or at school. What city/state do you call home? Corning, NY is where I call home. Technically, it’s Big Flats, NY, but nobody has ever heard of that. Currently, my family and I reside in Gainesville, VA. Do you prefer your vacation to be at the beach, in the mountains, or in a city? My dream vacation would probably be in the mountains. Being off the grid is something that really helps me relax and unwind. What is your favorite quote? I have two: “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching” and “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters”. Both speak to me in terms of really understanding what is important and what is not. What is your ideal Saturday? My ideal Saturday would definitely happen in the fall, so I can watch my Virginia Tech Hokies play some football. After that, some play time with the family so I can be a kid again, followed up with a home cooked meal and s’mores by the fire pit. What person, alive or deceased, would you most want to have dinner with? Phil Mickelson, without a doubt. It’s hard to come by a sports icon that has represented the game and his career with the amount of class and respect that he has. He has done everything the right way, and I would love to hear how he has accomplished that.