PRN Eye Associates has been successfully staffing optometric practices since 1999. The brainchild of Dr. Suzanne Smith, PRN had its beginnings when she was called upon to fill in for a friend of hers in Tampa, Florida.

Says Smith, "I thought to myself, there must be plenty of ODs out there who need coverage but can't always find someone to help. And there are probably many optometrists like myself, who don't have their own practice, and are willing to fill in at other offices." The only thing that didn't exist was a means for bringing the two together.

So, armed with a toll-free phone number and a box of refrigerator magnets, Smith started the company from scratch. Since its inception, the PRN Eye Associates family has grown to include nearly 300 Associate Optometrists all over the Eastern United States, and PRN has filled over 7000 Client requests for coverage.

A resident of Florida, Dr. Smith traveled to the Pacific Northwest and received her doctorate from Pacific University in 1989. "During the summer breaks in Portland, I found office work through a temporary agency, so I guess it makes sense that I would carry that experience with me into my professional life," she says. "I really like moving around--working in different offices and meeting new people."

Betty Lue Gordon came on board as Senior Staffing Specialist soon after the company opened its doors. Dr. Smith says that Betty Lue is the "chicken soup for the company's soul." "She's part air traffic controller, part psychiatrist, part mom, and part magician."

Dr. and Mrs. Kemp Jones accept a $200.00 Delta Airlines travel gift certificate at the Georgia Optometric Association's convention in
Savannah in 2004. Dr. Jones was the lucky winner of the free drawing provided by PRN Eye Associates.