March 29, 2024

Waigand named top 20 most influential woman in optical of 2018

AFTON – Shannon Waigand of Afton has been named in the top 20 most influential women in optical of 2018 in Vision Monday Magazine.

Waigand is originally from a small town in Iowa and has an outreach office in Afton for her company, DaVinci Equity Group.

Her office in Afton is the home office for the lab portion where they do all of their customer service and billing functions out of.

Waigand has been in the optical industry for more than 28 years and has impacted many people through her work.

“A favorite part would be the satisfaction of helping people see better and making them look stylish while they are doing it,” said Waigand, reflecting on her job.

Waigand gets the opportunity to travel to different trade shows around the country including Orlando, Miami and New York. She also travels to her office in Flint, Michigan. Altogether, she has seven practices, one lab and the office in Afton.

Waigand has plans to branch out into digital optometrics which is taking advantage of the technological advances that are entering the optical industry. This means that customers would be able to receive a virtual eye exam, allowing her doctors a more flexible schedule while being able to accommodate patients as walk-ins or emergencies that will be of value to both employees and patients.

“I plan to grow our company organically before adding more locations,” said Waigand.

Waigand has an office in Flint, Michigan, and travels there every six to eight weeks to touch base with new employees.

“Employees are the only reason we are in business, without them we simply would not exist. It is extremely important to me to stay in touch with each office staff member,” said Waigand.

Aside from making improvements to her own business, Waigand has also been recognized for being a part of a new partnership that was created by young entrepreneurs who are creating eye wear from recycled bottles of water that are a part of the Flint water crisis.

“This is something I am personally very proud and excited about,” said Waigand.

In an article in Vision Monday Magazine, Waigand noted that with the encouragement of her husband, she became one of the original owners and founders of DaVinci Equity Groups which was ranked No. 39 in VM’s 2017 Top 50 U.S. Optical Retailers report.

“It wasn’t until 25 years into my career that I believed in myself enough that (I recognized) a woman could do this, too,” Waigand told Vision Monday Magazine.