A Prince George optometrist has been named a National Volunteer of the Year by the Canadian Diabetes Association.
Dr. Michael Dennis will receive his award today (Friday) at the national CDA Conference in Edmonton.
Dennis served for four years as CDA regional chair for northern B.C. and the Yukon, and was a mover and shaker to seal a partnership between the Canadian Association of Optometrists and the Canadian Diabetes Association.
"Through the partnership we developed a program to help people take care of their eyes," said Dennis who knows how diabetes can cause vision loss.
"A lot of people have diabetes and should be receiving regular eye checks to catch any first signs of diabetes affecting the eye.
"It's a common complication of diabetes, but if treated early it can prevent or slow down vision loss,"
"There's a huge number of diabetics, but only a small number of eye specialists, so it's been very fulfilling to have this partnership between the CDA and optometrists."
Dennis says he's both "honoured and a little humble" to be named a national volunteer of the year.
"Anything I did at the local level was really to help out Boyanne Young (CDA northern regional co-ordinator). She should be getting this award," said Dennis.
