Distinguished Service Award
2024 Distinguished Service Recipient - Ronny LaQuey, OD, FAAO
The Oklahoma Association of Optometric Physicians (OAOP) has posthumously awarded Dr. Ronny Max LaQuey, OD, FAAO of Duncan, the 2024 Distinguished Service Award. The award goes to an optometric physician who has shown exemplary leadership within the profession.
Ronny Max LaQuey, OD, F.A.A.O. receives the Distinguished Service Award posthumously, having passed away on January 27, 2024.
Dr. LaQuey attended Central State University in Edmond, pursuing a path toward an Optometry Degree. On July 14, 1961, he married the love of his life, Virginia L. Ledbetter in Duncan.
In 1963, he was accepted to the University of Houston and completed his Doctor of Optometry in 1967. That same year, he joined the practice of Dr. G.G. Howe in Duncan, later becoming a partner and forming Optometry Clinic Inc. in August 1975. Dr. LaQuey practiced optometry from August 1967 to 2022 and was recognized as a member of the American Optometric Association for sixty years.
Dr. LaQuey served in various leadership roles, such as president of Duncan Jaycees in 1970, and was named outstanding Jaycee in 1974. In 1981, while serving as President of the Oklahoma Optometric Association, legislation was passed that expanded the scope of practice that included diagnostic and prescriptive privileges. Oklahoma has served as a model for legislation for other states.
In 1994, Dr. LaQuey was admitted as a Fellow into the American Academy of Optometry. At that time, only 10% of the practicing optometrists in the United States and Canada were Academy Fellows. He joined Vision Source in 1995, an independent group of optometrists, and continued his commitment to providing excellence in vision care.
Past Honorees
2023- Michael Bennett, OD
2022- Jari Frazier. OD
2021- Tami Ross, OD
2020- Michelle Welch, OD
2019- Dawn Holsted, OD
2018- Jeff D. Miller, OD
2017- Richard Castillo, OD, MD
2016- Travis Yadon, OD
2015- Greg Clay, OD
2014- Lee Carr, OD
2013- Don Diehl, OD
2012- David Cockrell, OD
2011- Russell Laverty, OD
2010- Mack Smith, OD (Deceased)
2009 - George Foster, OD
2008 - Don Q. Hewett, OD (Deceased)
2007 - Gary Ford, OD (Deceased)
