A CAREER WORTH CELEBRATING
Ti Point dispensing optician Pene Fox, owner of Bespectacled Ltd, has just received one of the optical industry's highest honours.
At the Association of Dispensing Opticians of New Zealand’s (ADONZ) Conference Gala Dinner in Palmerston North, President Laura McLaren announced Pene as the recipient of the 2026 Directors Award. The award came as a complete surprise as members nominate and vote for their peers, and the Executive Committee confirms the final decision.
The award recognises Pene’s significant contribution to optical dispensing through education, industry representation, public awareness, and service to ADONZ. "I feel truly humbled and incredibly proud," says Pene. "In a small coastal community like ours, many of my clients are people I've known for years. To be recognised by my peers while doing work I love, for people I care about, means a great deal."
Pene's career spans more than three decades, beginning in Paeroa, where she worked as a spectacle lens technician before it took her around New Zealand in dispensing, laboratory, contact lens, and practice management roles. When she qualified as a dispensing optician in 2003, she received the State Medal as the top student across Australia and New Zealand.
In 2023 she opened Bespectacled Ltd, an independent optical dispensary serving the wider Mahurangi area, and Pene describes it as "the best decision ever".
Clients value her technical precision and her superpower for finding eyewear that suits both lifestyle and personality.
Her passion for optics continues alongside her involvement with ADONZ's OptiBlocks education committee, her role examining overseas dispensers seeking registration, and her teaching of final-year optometry students at the University of Auckland.
The Directors Award is a meaningful recognition of a career defined not only by professional achievement, but also by a generous commitment to sharing knowledge and strengthening the future of dispensing opticians in New Zealand.
www.bespectacled.co.nz | 021 335 383