Press Releases

That job posting is no longer available.

July 22, 2010

Local Eye Site is a National Network

Due to partnership with media giant Jobson Medical Information, LLC, Local Eye Site is no longer a single webpage but a network of sites

(Published on Business Leader)

(Published on dBusinessNews)

(RALEIGH, NC) – Local Eye Site, LLC, the premier human resource online community for eye care professionals, is no longer a single website but rather a network of sites. Founded in 2007, Local Eye Site (LES) has developed from an idea to the leading engine powering online recruiting for the eye care industry. In June 2010, LES formalized a relationship with Jobson Medical Information, LLC (JMI), the leading media company in eye care. LES now powers career portals on Jobson websites, and the LES brand is marketed heavily in the many print and online Jobson publications.

LES also joined with the American Society of Ophthalmic Nurses (ASORN) to power their online career & opportunity center. LES expects to announce additional relationships moving forward, and anticipates being the engine that powers online recruiting for the entire eye care industry for years to come.

“Fragmentation in the eye care industry is one of the issues that made recruiting difficult,” said Brad McCorkle, founder of Local Eye Site. “At LES, we’ve managed to attract one comprehensive audience of all types of professionals in our industry with massive distribution of opportunities via our network of career portals. The result is a powerful and efficient resource for administrators in the eye care industry.”

Local Eye Site customers enjoying seeing their positions not only posted on LES, but also on network sites such as SightNation (www.sightnation.com) and Review of Optometric Business (www.reviewofoptometricbusiness.com). In the coming months, LES jobs will also populate Career Centers on Vision Monday, 20/20 Magazine, Review of Optometry and Review of Ophthalmology.

Local Eye Site (www.localeyesite.com) advances the quality of patient care by providing opportunities to foster professional development, further education and enhance communication among the eye care community

June 14, 2010

Local Eye Site and Jobson’s ECP Business Services Collaborate To Form Online Recruiting Solution

(Published on Vision Monday)

(Published on Business Leader)

(Published on Carolina Newswire)

NEW YORK –A new partnership that will provide eyecare-related organizations online recruiting and professional development has been signed by Jobson Medical Information’s ECP Business Services Division and Local Eye Site.

Via the new agreement, effective June 14, 2010, Local Eye Site’s recruitment information and career search will appear exclusively on Jobson Optical Group Web sites, debuting initially on the SightNation (www.sightnation.com) and appearing over the coming months on Vision Monday, 20/20, Review of Optometry, Review of Optometric Business and Review of Ophthalmology Web sites.

Local Eye Site (LES) helps eye care practices around the country raise their online awareness, recruit qualified talent year-round and improve patient care through a unique model of leveraging online communication and two-way job recruitment process. Local Eye Site’s current membership base includes private eye care practices, corporate eye care organizations and teaching institutions at the university level.

Brad McCorkle, founder of Local Eye Site, stated, “This new relationship between Jobson and Local Eye Site is remarkably synergistic. Both organizations encourage a sense of community across the various segments of the eye care industry. Eye care professionals depend on the many Jobson brands for critical industry information and education, and on Local Eye Site for a uniquely targeted and effective online recruiting solution. By working together, we form the most comprehensive and powerful online recruiting destination in eye care.”

Bill Scott, president of Jobson’s ECP Business Services division added, “Our partnership with Local Eye Site is another example of fulfilling our mission to provide ECP’s with the Best in Class products and services in order to help our users grow and thrive in today’s competitive marketplace. Local Eye Site has world class technology and a reputation for providing results for its customers – both those looking for jobs and those that are recruiting for staff. With the reach that Jobson provides and the reputation and technology that Local Eye Site has, we are confident that we will be providing the industry with the most powerful placement and recruiting destination the industry has ever experienced.

SightNation.com is the fast-growing industry-wide social networking site for ECPs and optical professionals which combines the total resources of the JMI Optical Group under the SightNation flag, including Review of Optometry, Review of Ophthalmology, 20/20 Magazine, Vision Monday and LabTalk. The site offers an open platform that uses cutting-edge technology to allow optometrists, opticians, ophthalmologists, industry execs and other optical professionals to exchange ideas and explore the rising trend in social and professional networking.

May 18, 2010

Vision Industry Leader, Local Eye Site, Helps to Promote Healthy Vision in Children Through “Star Pupils”

(Published on Vision Monday)

(Published on Optical Vision Resources)

(Published on Prevent Blindness)

Chicago, IL—Local Eye Site, the premier online community for eye care professionals, is partnering with Prevent Blindness America, the nation’s oldest volunteer eye health and safety organization, to help protect children’s vision. Through its growing network of registered users of eye care professionals including ophthalmologists, optometrists, opticians and registered nurses, Local Eye Site will provide its members with the tools and information from the Star Pupils program to offer to their patients and how they can encourage parents to participate.

Star Pupils is a trademark program of Prevent Blindness America that promotes children’s eye health and safety. It is designed to provide parents with the information they need to help their children succeed in the classroom through healthy vision as well as tips on proper eye protection and information on common eye problems. Donations to the Star Pupils program will help to provide access to vision care services for disadvantaged children. The goal of the program is to reach 5 million children through Star Pupils within in the next three years.

“Through my involvement with Prevent Blindness North Carolina, I have seen firsthand the impact that Prevent Blindness America programs have on children and their families. These screenings save sight, and change lives,” said Brad McCorkle, founder and President of Local Eye Site. “My hope is that we can engage the Local Eye Site community of eye care professionals to raise awareness about the Star Pupils program, and the opportunity the eye care community has to impact lives in such a rewarding way.”

For six years, McCorkle has served on the board of directors for Prevent Blindness North Carolina. “During my time there, I have served on committees, participated in vision screenings, and planned and attended fund raisers,” added McCorkle. “It’s been worthwhile because of the lives these programs enrich.”

“Thanks to this new joint effort, Prevent Blindness America and Local Eye Site will be able to work together to reach out to those eye care professionals who are on the front lines of providing much-needed vision care,” said Hugh R. Parry, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness America. “We appreciate the dedication and commitment that Brad McCorkle and all of those at Local Eye Site have demonstrated over the years to promoting quality vision care and vision care services. We thank them for their continued support of our mission and Star Pupils.”

For more information on Star Pupils, please visit starpupils.org or call (800) 331-2020. Prevent Blindness America offers a variety of fact sheets and brochures on children’s vision issues including an at-home eye test and tips for eye protection at starpupils.org.

About Prevent Blindness America Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness America is the nation’s leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. Focused on promoting a continuum of vision care, Prevent Blindness America touches the lives of millions of people each year through public and professional education, advocacy, certified vision screenings, community and patient service programs and research. These services are made possible through the generous support of the American public. Together with a network of affiliates, divisions and chapters, Prevent Blindness America is committed to eliminating preventable blindness in America. For more information, or to make a contribution to the sight-saving fund, call 1-800-331-2020 or visit us on the Web at preventblindness.org.

About Local Eye Site Local Eye Site is the premier online destination for professionals in the eye care industry. Founded in 2007 by Brad McCorkle, a former Senior Medical Sales Representative for a leading eye care company, Local Eye Site advances the quality of patient care by providing opportunities to foster professional development, further education and enhance communication among the eye care community. The site is committed to serving the industry from a personal and local perspective. Local Eye Site’s fresh and creative approach to the eye care industry distinguishes it from eye care associations and industry competitors. For more information, visit localeyesite.com.

April 1, 2010

American Society of Ophthalmic Registered Nurses Announces ‘ASORN Careers’ powered by Local Eye Site

ASORN Careers utilizes Local Eye Site technology to offer online recruiting solution

(Published on Carolina News Wire)

RALEIGH, N.C. —The American Society of Ophthalmic Registered Nurses (ASORN), the premier association for RNs in Ophthalmology, announces the launch of “ASORN Careers.” “ASORN Careers” is the Association’s new online recruiting solution aimed at the Ophthalmic Registered Nurse and technical personnel recruiting needs of the eye care community

“ASORN Careers” will allow eye care organizations to connect with the combined membership base of ASORN, and the Local Eye Site community. ASORN and Local Eye Site (LES), the premier online community for eye care professionals, will offer access to their combined membership base of Ophthalmic RNs and technical personnel using LES technology. The organizations will work together, utilizing LES’ knowledge of the online eye care recruiting space to provide a more complete solution for the eye care industry.

“ASORN and Local Eye Site have successfully partnered on other initiatives to raise awareness of both organizations,” said Annquinetta Kelly, President of ASORN. “Working together to provide an effective online recruiting solution to the eye care community is an exciting and logical next step.” Brad McCorkle, founder of Local Eye site agrees. “LES’ partnership with ASORN has been very productive, and we are confident that by combining our strengths and audience, we can provide the most comprehensive and effective online recruiting solution for Ophthalmic RNs and technical personnel in the eye care industry.”

About ASORN The mission of the American Society of Ophthalmic Registered Nurses (ASORN) is to foster excellence in ophthalmic patient care and to support the ophthalmic team through individual development, education, and evidence based practice.

Media contact: Lisa Brown at the American Academy of Ophthalmology, (415) 447-0249 or lbrown@aao.org

March 1, 2010

Founder of Local Eye Site Named One of the Top 50 Entrepreneurs in the Triangle

2010-03-01– Brad McCorkle Honored at Awards Luncheon Sponsored by Business Leader Magazine

(Published on Carolina News Wire)

(Published on Business Leader)

Brad McCorkle, founder and President of Local Eye Site, has been named one of the “Top 50 Entrepreneurs” by Business Leader Magazine, recognizing the most influential business leaders in the Triangle. Local Eye Site, based in Raleigh, NC, is the premier online community for eye care professionals.

Business Leader honored McCorkle and others in a ceremony on February 26 in Raleigh, and he will be featured in the magazine’s March 2010 issue. The Business Leader has recognized the Triangle’s most prominent business leaders as the “Top 50 Entrepreneurs” since 1996.

“We believe that this award is confirmation of the effectiveness of our innovative model for online recruiting in niche industries,” said McCorkle. “Local Eye Site is moving forward with a progressive plan to create online communities for niche industries, which ultimately serve as fertile recruiting ground for our customers.”

Brad gained an appreciation for the challenges associated with recruiting in niche industries while serving as a Medical Sales Representative for an Ophthalmic focused pharmaceutical and surgical equipment company. His observation was that traditional recruiting tools were not well suited to help organizations efficiently source individuals with unique backgrounds. The Local Eye Site model very effectively builds a sense of community online amongst a group of individuals with unique, yet similar backgrounds. Organizations that plug into these online communities may recruit professionals in a more targeted and efficient fashion.

“I would like to thank our team at Local Eye Site for their hard work, loyalty and determination,” said McCorkle. “Recognizing need, and pursuing a solution is only a small part of entrepreneurship. Proper execution of an effective business plan is the most difficult part, and Local Eye Site wouldn’t have made it this far without our group of dedicated professionals.”

November 17, 2009

Local Eye Site (LES) announces Bill Valdespino as Partner, Vice President

Valdespino to expand the sales organization and grow subscription membership nationwide

(Published on Carolina News Wire)

RALEIGH, NC – November 17, 2009 – Local Eye Site (LES), the premier online destination for professionals in the eye care industry, today welcomed Bill Valdespino as the newest member of the Local Eye Site team. Mr. Valdespino joins LES as Partner and Vice President of the LES Sales organization.

Mr. Valdespino joins Local Eye Site with 15 years experience in Sales, Management and Business Development. Most notably, Valdespino held roles as a VP/General Manager and Strategic Account Manager at Monster Worldwide. He has also held technology sales and management positions in the software as a service (SaaS) and wireless industries.

Mr. Valdespino will oversee the LES sales team, directing the expansion of Local Eye Site’s membership base of private eye care practices, corporate providers, universities and eye care product manufacturers. He will focus on refining the company’s sales process, and expanding the company’s subscription and registration base nationwide.

“Local Eye Site has a tremendous future ahead, and I am excited to be a part of it” said Valdespino. “LES is a proven resource for eye care professionals. In addition, the LES model for online recruiting in niche industries such as eye care is a significant step forward in effectiveness from the tools previously available.”

“We are thrilled about Bill coming on board at Local Eye Site,” said Brad McCorkle, President and Founder of LES. “Bill’s background, abilities and demonstrated success in the online recruiting industry make him a perfect fit to drive the expansion of the LES membership base.”

Local Eye Site (LES) helps eye care practices around the country raise their online awareness, recruit qualified talent year-round and improve patient care through its unique model of leveraging online communication and unprecedented two-way job recruitment process.

September 17, 2009

Local Eye Site Survey Finds Cataract Patients Use a Variety of Pharmaceutical Regimens

Local Eye Site’s 2009 Cataract Drops Survey results show that responding eye care professionals instruct their patients to use many unique combinations of eye drops before, day-of and after cataract surgery

(Published on Carolina News Wire)

Local Eye Site, the premier online destination for professionals in the eye care industry, announced today the results of its 2009 Cataract Drops Survey. The survey asked eye care professionals a series of questions surrounding drug classifications, brands and specific regimens of eye drops. LES was looking for feedback about how, and which drops are prescribed leading up to, the day-of and the time after cataract surgery.

“Curiosity about what the peer group is doing pre-op and post-op is regularly expressed by the eye care community,” said Brad McCorkle, president and founder of Local Eye Site. “Based on our survey feedback, the level of interest could be due to the fact that there is no formal protocol for how pharmaceutical drops are used by cataract surgery patients.”

There were over 160 participants from 34 states and Puerto Rico in the survey. The survey requested feedback about how cataract patients are being instructed to use, or not use steroids, NSAIDs, anti-infectives and artificial tears. If any of those drops were being prescribed for use before, day-of or after cataract surgery, Local Eye Site wanted to know how many drops per day, and for how long. The survey also inquired about the use of Betadine in the operating room. The greatest commonality in this data was that the responding eye care professionals do instruct their patients to use NSAID, anti-infective and steroid eye drops after cataract surgery.

“There were some commonalities in our results, but because this was not a scientific study, we did not draw any conclusions,” said McCorkle, “however, we are excited to publish the survey results, and hopeful that it provides some useful information for eye care practitioners.” Click here to view the survey results.

August 26, 2009

Local Eye Site (LES) Leverages Humor and Industry Feedback to Reach Eye Care Professionals

Online eye care community works with computer animator Grey Blackwell to parody life in the eye care industry

(Published on Carolina News Wire)

(Published on Vision Care Venture)

Local Eye Site (LES), the premier online destination for professionals in the eye care industry, announced today its newest endeavor to connect with the eye care industry and enhance communication among its professionals. Local Eye Site is working with Grey Blackwell, one of the most respected computer animators in the industry, to create a humorous animated series designed to build awareness for the LES online community.

“Part of our vision from the beginning was to provide eye care professionals with a platform to express interesting and often comical idiosyncrasies associated with working in the eye care industry,” said Brad McCorkle, president and founder of Local Eye Site. “Earlier this year, we hosted a ‘Funniest Moments in Eye Care’ contest soliciting funny eye care-related stories from industry veterans. The response was terrific, so we decided to take it a step further using computer animation, and Grey was the perfect fit to bring these stories to life.”

“With the Local Eye Site animated series, we feature quirky eye care characters and their catch phrases,” said Grey Blackwell. “Our comedy sketches are grounded in just enough realism to make them believable. I’ve found in my own experience that targeted niche content is the most effective on the web, and these shorts fit that role perfectly.”

Grey Blackwell graduated from North Carolina State’s School of Design in 1992 with a strong interest in political cartooning. After stints at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Raleigh’s New & Observer, and freelance work for MAD magazine, Entertainment Weekly and Sports Illustrated as a cartoonist, Grey started experimenting with flash animation. The resulting hilarious animated briefs, which celebrated popular figures, including some of the local sports icons, caught the attention of Local Eye Site and led to the creation of “Eileen: the Eye Care Professional Extraordinaire.”

“We are having a lot of fun with this,” said McCorkle. “As it should be, the medical industry is serious business, but they say laughter is the best medicine.”

To view all episodes of “Eileen: The Eye Care Professional Extraordinaire” and stay updated on her adventures, visit http://localeyesite.com/eileen.

June 9, 2009

Local Eye Site (LES) Announces Partnership with American Society of Ophthalmic Registered Nurses (ASORN)

Eye care organizations will work together to raise awareness, benefit their membership base and foster excellence in patient eye care

(Published on Eye World from ASCRS)

(Published on dBusiness News)

(Published on Carolina News Wire)

(Published on Business Leader)

(Published on Linking Raleigh NC.com)

(Published on ASORN website/University of Iowa)

RALEIGH, NC – – Local Eye Site, the premier online destination for professionals in the eye care industry, announced today its newly-formed partnership with ASORN, the chief association for Ophthalmic Registered Nurses. Both organizations share the basic mission of supporting education, professionalism and advancements in the quality of eye care. ASORN and LES will work together in a collaborative effort to raise the awareness of their organizations while continuing to provide unparalleled support to eye care professionals and foster excellence in patient care.

“Our collaboration with Local Eye Site is an exciting opportunity to share ASORN’s mission of advancing education for the ophthalmic team,” said Eileen Beltramba, president of ASORN. “By partnering with Local Eye Site, we can share educational resources and provide our members with additional tools to help in their workplace.”

ASORN was founded to foster excellence in ophthalmic patient care while supporting ophthalmic teams through individual development, education and evidence-based practice. Standard ASORN members include Registered Nurses in Ophthalmic offices and clinics, community health, management and surgical settings. ASORN also has affiliate members who are not Registered Nurses, including those committed to fostering the ophthalmic team concept and collaboration among all who work in the eye care specialty. For more information, visit www.asorn.org.

“We are thrilled about the potential opportunities through our partnership with ASORN,” said Brad McCorkle, president and founder of Local Eye Site. “ASORN is a highly respected organization in the ophthalmic community, and we look forward to working more closely to raise awareness and support excellence in eye care.”

May 14, 2009

TLC Vision Chooses Local Eye Site to Streamline Recruiting Process

North America’s premier eye care services company will have ability to efficiently and effectively attract top industry talent

(Published on Carolina News Wire)

(Business Leader)

RALEIGH, NC – May 14, 2009 – Local Eye Site (LES), the leading online destination for professionals in the eye care industry, announced today a newly formed relationship with TLC Vision, North America’s premier eye care services company. LES’s website will enable TLC to access the LES community of eye care professionals in order to announce professional opportunities within their organization. TLC will be able to do this via job postings on the LES site, as well as through email blasts sent directly to the LES database of eye care job seekers.

“TLC Vision is focused more on building lasting awareness and long-term relationships with top-talent prospects in the vision industry than we are on “quick-hit-hiring,” said Charles Judy, vice president of human resources for TLC Vision. “We believe one of the best ways for us to do that is through strategic partnerships with organizations that have proven their dedication to the advancement of our industry. Local Eye Site is clearly one of those organizations.”

TLC Vision currently has eye care centers in 33 states and Canada. Through its centers management and technology access service models, as well as its managed care contracting strength, TLC Vision maintains leading positions in refractive, cataract and optometric markets. To learn more about TLC Vision, visit www.tlcvision.com.

“We are thrilled to build a partnership with such a respected provider of quality eye care like TLC Vision,” said Brad McCorkle, president and founder of Local Eye Site. “We look forward to working more closely with them to raise awareness about opportunities within their organization.”

Local Eye Site helps eye care practices around the country raise their online awareness, recruit qualified talent year-round and improve patient care through its unique model of leveraging online communication and unprecedented two-way job recruitment process.

About Local Eye Site

Local Eye Site is the premier online destination for professionals in the eye care industry. Founded in 2007 by Brad McCorkle, a former Senior Medical Sales Representative for a leading eye care company, Local Eye Site advances the quality of patient care by providing opportunities to foster professional development, further education and enhance communication among the eye care community. The site is committed to serving the industry from a personal and local perspective. Local Eye Site’s fresh and creative approach to the eye care industry distinguishes it from eye care associations and industry competitors. For more information, visit localeyesite.com.

May, 2009

USE THE WEB FOR OPTICAL JOB SEARCHES

Post an open position, exchange ideas, and even manage the professional development of individuals and groups at LOCAL EyeSite (LES). The Web site provides networking resources and job recruitment tools for eyecare practices and teaching institutions. Founded by former medical sales representative, Brad McCorkle, LES specializes in recruiting with a targeted approach focused on eyecare.

(Published on Vision Care Ventures “News and Views”)

March, 2009

Wake Forest University Eye Center Leverages Local Eye Site to Streamline Staffing Process

Online community proves to be cost-efficient, time-effective model for recruiting qualified professionals in the eye care industry

(Published on the Carolina Newswire)

(Ocular Surgery News: OSN Super Site)

RALEIGH, NC – March 24, 2009 – Local Eye Site, the premier online destination for professionals in the eye care industry, announced today its success in helping Wake Forest University Eye Center streamline its staffing process and increase the quality of applicants. Local Eye Site (LES) helps eye care practices around the country raise their online awareness, recruit qualified talent year-round and improve patient care through its unique model of leveraging online communication and unprecedented two-way job recruitment process.

The Wake Forest University Eye Center, which specializes in all areas of eye care in the Carolinas, had previously experienced difficulty in finding qualified candidates to fill positions. Job postings were not reaching the intended audience, and restrictive posting guidelines along with high costs made it almost impossible to maintain a steady online presence. LES effectively gave the center the forum they needed to address the needs of the industry and the tool to connect open positions with qualified candidates.

“For a minimal annual fee, I have access to the people and issues that matter most to our facility,” said Genie Greene, Certified Ophthalmic Technician (COT) and financial coordinator at the Eye Center. “It has been a valuable investment for everyone involved. We have already filled six positions in less than eight months using Local Eye Site.”

Local Eye Site has proven to be an economical tool for the eye care industry because it caters to a small, specialized community that often tends to get lost in the sea of information on other job recruitment mediums. With LES, the Eye Center has been able to easily identify and target qualified professionals, save time and money associated with traditional advertising forums and keep updated on important issues in the eye care industry.

“The early success of our site validates our vision for lessening the burden associated with recruiting in the niche industry of eye care,” said Brad McCorkle, president and founder of Local Eye Site. “We believe that by empowering eye care providers with a cost effective and efficient resource to connect with the most qualified candidates, we are helping improve the quality of eye care. That is something we are excited about!”

About Local Eye Site

January, 2009

Local Eye Site Names Jane Kendall King Sales Manager

(Published on the Carolina Newswire)

(Publised on the Daily Business News Wire)

Raleigh, NC – January 21st, 2009 – Local Eye Site, LLC, the leading online community and recruiting resource for eye care professionals, announced today that it has named Jane Kendall King as its Sales Manager. Ms. King will oversee the company’s inside sales team, directing the expansion of Local Eye Site’s membership base of private eye care practices, corporate eye care organizations and teaching institutions at the university level. She most recently served as Relationship Manager for First Research, Inc., the leading provider of industry intelligence.

In her new role as Sales Manager, Ms. King will focus on refining the company’s outbound sales process, expanding the company’s eye care community participation across the U.S, and reinforcing the company’s brand messaging. Prior to First Research, Ms. King was an Account Executive in the telecommunications industry. She is a native of North Carolina, graduate of Auburn University and mother of 3.

“We are very fortunate to have a person of Jane’s ability and integrity at Local Eye Site. I am confident that our sales organization will benefit greatly from her leadership,” explained Brad McCorkle, Local Eye Site president and founder.

To learn more about how Local Eye Site has already been embraced by the eye care community, visit: http://localeyesite.com/about, or call the Local Eye Site office at 919-301-8539.

November, 2008

Respected Names in Ophthalmology Notice Local Eye Site’s Unique Approach

(Published on the Carolina Newswire)

(Published on Business Leader)

Local Eye Site (LES) launched in April 2008, as an online networking community for all eye care professionals. Local Eye Site originally started with a regional focus, but management soon realized the national need. Seven months and tens of thousands of site visits later, LES has customers from Chicago to Miami. The website’s attention and early success results from a unique approach – adding viral networking to an online presence.

Brad McCorkle, founder of LES, comments, “Our clients understand what we understand: Recruiting needs to be targeted and all year long. So, we pull from our experiences and relationships in eye care to manage a site that consistently refreshes with content and activities designed to attract our target audience. We offer eye care related contests, forums and information as a way to attract new visitors. With our focus on gathering this group of networking eye care professionals, organizations receive the benefit of recruiting opportunities in multiple formats all year long. The result is better access to quality candidates, better patient care with fully-staffed clinics, and less stress for the organization.”

Local Eye Site’s growing client base is gaining the attention of many in eye care, including respected names at universities that have teaching programs in Ophthalmology. Although many of LES’ customers are private practices, 5 universities with Ophthalmology programs are already using Local Eye Site, including 2 of the top 10 rated programs in the nation.

McCorkle adds, “We’re excited to have the opportunity to work with these highly respected institutions and medical practices. We are dedicated to making sure our client base has an overwhelmingly positive experience so that results are the primary driving factor behind our continued growth.”

Local Eye Site’s mission is to improve the quality of eye care through improving communication, promoting educational opportunities and fostering professional development across all positions and specialties of eye care. LES provides online resources for eye care providers and enhances the internet presence of eye care practices and teaching institutions. Media contact: Brad McCorkle at brad.mccorkle@localeyesite.com or (919) 301-8539. Website: http//localeyesite.com.

October 2008

North Carolina Startup Blog Features Local Eye Site

(Published On North Carolina Startup Blog)

I’m a big fan of niche startups. It allows you to offer something that is very specific to the needs of a small group and people will find you if you make sure you can be found (think SEO). One such startup in Raleigh, NC, is Local Eye Site (www.localeyesite.com), an online community for eye care professionals. We spoke with Brad McCorkle, the President of Local Eye Site, to learn more about his new venture.

NCSUB: What is your 30 second elevator pitch?
Brad McCorkle: Local Eye Site is the premier online community for all eye care professionals. Our mission is to support educational opportunities, foster professional development and enhance communication across all positions and specialties in eye care. In the process of executing our mission, we’ve developed a significant following of eye care professionals. The result for our customers is an outstanding place to raise the online awareness of your practice and it’s recruiting needs.

NCSUB: When did you start planning? When did you launch?
Brad McCorkle: I started planning Local Eye Site(LES) in the summer of 2007, and left my previous job to go full time with it April of 08.

NCSUB: What is the background of you and your team?
Brad McCorkle: I spent 13 years in sales, the last 5 in the Ophthalmic and Optometric industry.

NCSUB: How are you funded?
Brad McCorkle: We raised private funds by selling equity shares in LES.

NCSUB: What is your revenue model? Are you ad-funded?
Brad McCorkle: We use a recurring revenue model. We sell annual memberships to eye care practices and organizations. Members are allowed to post as many positions as they need during the year, as well as, access our database of potential “eye care job seekers.” We do also sell advertising via banner ads.

NCSUB: How did you determine that there is a demand for the service you provide?
Brad McCorkle: During my time in eye care sales I observed the need for a more effective and efficient way to recruit the kinds of specific training and experience needed in eye care. Sales reps are often leaned on for recruiting help because the traditional methods aren’t as effective as they need to be. This experience made it clear to me that a resource like LES could be successful.

NCSUB: How many members do you so far?
Brad McCorkle: Site traffic so far is roughly 16,500 visits by about 10,200 individuals. 1,100 professionals in 33 states have registered for free accounts to our site. We have 25 paying customers so far.

NCSUB: Is the plan to go national?
Brad McCorkle: Yes, we’re slowly expanding into other states and our plan is to go national.

NCSUB: When do you expect to be profitable?
Brad McCorkle: Our goal is to be profitable in year 2.

August 2008

Responding to Aging Baby Boomers, NC’s Local Eye Site networks across the U.S.

(Published On Carolina Newswire)

(Published on Raleigh-Durham.com Business Leader)

(Published on dBusiness News)

(Published in The News & Observer, Raleigh, NC)

Local Eye Site (LES), http://localeyesite.com, launched in North Carolina this year as an online networking community for all eye care professionals. The website announced its expansion outside of NC beginning in August of 2008. LES provides online resources for eye care providers and an internet presence for eye care practices and teaching institutions. The website specializes in recruiting with a unique, targeted approach focused on eye care.

Brad McCorkle, of Raleigh, NC, founded LES with the mission of improving the quality of eye care through enhancing communication, increasing educational opportunities, and fostering professional development. LES builds its client base by providing practice memberships that offer innovative recruiting tools designed specifically for eye care providers. Local Eye Site services the entire recruiting needs of the eye care practices using a unique combination of job opportunity announcements, pro-active emailing using the LES database, practice advertising, and specialized involvement of the LES networking specialists.

LES President, Brad McCorkle, expressed, “Based on our background in eye care, and awareness of the US’ aging population and limited talent pool to serve the aging boomers, we know there is a need for Local Eye Site. However, we expected that it could take a full year to get the site noticed. The response surprised us due to the high volume of traffic and the number of eye care professionals registering to the website this quickly. We definitely struck a chord.”

By following the mission of serving the eye care community, LES helps practices, like Charlotte Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat (CEENTA), recruit and share their educational offerings. Tara McAlister, the Staff Development Manager at CEENTA, responds: “Since 1923, Charlotte Eye Ear Nose and Throat, Associates (CEENTA) has strived to meet the increasing ophthalmology and otolaryngology healthcare needs of the population. By partnering with Local Eye Site (LES), we hope to continue to provide opportunities for regional ophthalmology professionals to receive continuing education opportunities[…]Since joining together with Brad McCorkle and the staff of Local Eye Site, we have been so impressed with their dedication to providing a professional and informative site to meet the needs of eye staff in the area. Within just hours of posting a new opening we were thrilled to locate a possible candidate.”

Brad reached out to an old friend and previous coworker, Lee Ann Harrison of Charlotte, NC, to help LES expand and respond to the eye care community’s welcome. Lee Ann is onboard as the Regional Sales Manager with the express intent of helping LES network outside of NC. Lee Ann replies: “I believe in Brad’s vision of a community and his business integrity. We share in our excitement for this new concept of efficient and cost-effective practice administration at the very basic level: recruiting qualified candidates in a highly specialized industry.”

In addition, Nicole Papworth-Jones of Raleigh, NC, joined the LES team to drive marketing for the firm. Brad met Nicole while making a presentation to the Duke University Ophthalmic Technician Training Program. Nicole completed the Certified Ophthalmic Technician (COT) program at Duke, but has been with Local Eye Site ever since. Brad responds: “What an asset to have someone on the team with an Ophthalmic/Optometric clinical background, and experience in marketing. Nicole is a tremendous resource.”

Brad shares, “Our database of jobseekers and eye care professionals is national already. We value every state as contributors to this powerful community, and as members benefiting from our networking efforts. Our vision is that someday Local Eye Site will be recognized as the home page of eye care.”

For further information, contact Brad McCorkle at (919) 301-8539 or brad.mccorkle@localeyesite.com. Website: http://localeyesite.com.

LocalEyeSite.com

Contact us at: