TBOS Officers

President: Frances Acosta, MD

Vice President: Priya Vakharia, MD

Treasurer: Andrew Mueller, MD

Secretary: Dana Schneider, MD

The Tampa Bay Ophthalmological Society is dedicated to providing a forum for ophthalmologists in the community to gather and exchange ideas. We sponsor monthly dinner meetings about topics of interest to local Ophthalmologists.

Presidents

1977 - John W. Glotfelty
1978 - Jeffrey White
1979 - Frank Mendelblatt
1980 - Leslie L. Chisholm
1981 - William Layden
1984 - Ronald L. Seeley
1985 - Douglas Perry
1986 - E. George Rosanelli
1987 - Douglas Perry
1988 - Moira J. Burke
1991 - Ronald Chase
1992 - Deen King
1993 - Mark E. Hammer
1994 - Scott E. Pautler
1995 - Lawrence C. Taylor, Jr.
1996 - Andrea Lusk
1998 - Lawrence G. Kass
1999 - Steven Maskin
2001 - Robert Urban
2002 - Matthew Menosky
2004 - Lydia Tymiak
2005 - William Mack
2006 - Peter Smith
2007 - David Rothberg
2008 - Bradley Fouraker
2009 - Steven Cohen
2010 - Michael Levitt
2012 - David Eichenbaum
2013 - Shawn Chhabra
2014 - Jasmine Mohajer
2015 - Michael Manning
2016 - David Mendelblatt
2017 - Ilya Leyngold
2018 - Ahad Mahootchi
2019 - Jennifer Landy
2020 - George Fisher
2021 - Haroon Ilyas
2022 - Evan Dunn
2023 - Ashely Crane
2024 - Frances Acosta

Early History of the Tampa Bay Ophthalmological Society

The initial meeting of the Tampa Bay ophthalmologists was organized by Jeffrey M. White, M.D. of Tampa, who invited the area ophthalmologists to an informal luncheon and meeting at the Holiday Inn motel on the Courtney Campbell Causeway. Approximately 100 ophthalmologists attended, representing Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, the Manatee and Sarasota area, and as far east as the Lakeland area. It was decided to form an organization, and have regular meetings.

The group continued to occasionally formulate contact and discussions with each other, and Jeffrey White, M.D. was unanimously elected President and founder of the organization named as The Tampa Bay Ophthalmological Society. Dr. White served in 1977 and 1978, along with William C. Edwards, M.D. as Vice-President, who was currently Chairman of Ophthalmology at the University of South Florida, and

Frank I. Mendelblatt, M.D. as Secretary Treasurer.

It was initially decided that the Tampa Bay Ophthalmological Society would serve its members as an informational, educational, and regional service that would also aid in patient care. The first President and founder was Jeffrey M. White, M.D., followed by Frank I. Mendelblatt, M.D. as the second President, and William E. Layden, M.D., then Chairman of Ophthalmology at the University of South Florida, as the third President. Dr. White served in 1977 and 1978, Dr. Mendelblatt in 1979 and 1980, and

Dr. Layden in 1981 and 1982.

Ronald L. Sealy, M.D. served early in the organization of the Society as Secretary and Treasurer.

The Tampa Bay Ophthalmological Society became related to the University Of South Florida College Of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, and, in particular, our meetings coincide with the Grand Rounds at the University of South Florida, which involved Thursdays. The speaker at the University of South Florida would then attend the quarterly meetings of the Tampa Bay Ophthalmological Society, and our meetings then were Thursday evenings, which were dinner affairs. It was initially decided to use the Marriott Hotel at Tampa International Airport for our meeting sites, as the speaker then would frequently reside at the hotel, and then fly out the following morning.

It was decided to meet quarterly, with the dues to be $100 for each member, which would include the quarterly meals.

Our excellent speakers came from different parts of the United States, and early in the Society meetings we had the honor to have Harold G. Scheie, of the Scheie Institute of Philadelphia, as a guest speaker. In addition, Edward W.D. Norton, MD, Chairman of Ophthalmology at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University of Miami School of Medicine, presented a talk on Hemorrhagic Retinopathies at one of the early meetings.

Our meetings were well attended, with usually about 75 or more ophthalmologists attending each quarterly meeting. Most ophthalmologists would attend Grand Rounds at the University of South Florida in the afternoon, and then travel to the Tampa International Airport area, which was convenient to the members of the Tampa Bay area for the Thursday evening dinners and meetings. Because of our academic interests, it was decided early on in the incorporation of the Society to invite our University of South Florida ophthalmology residents as our non-paying guests at our meetings.

Respectfully submitted, August 24, 2017

Frank I. Mendelblatt, M.D.