‘Oh, God is good’ | Eyeglass winners share joy of Old Harbour Optical’s special gift

Since January the company has embarked on a promotional campaign to mark 10 years of existence in Old Harbour. Throughout the period customers benefited from a wide range of special discounts on lenses and frames. However, the real big deal of the lot was 10 lucky persons being gifted a pair of prescription glasses.

Last month three women were among the first to receive their free eyewear, which they all celebrated with much glee. It was no different for the second and final batch of winners after they won over the heart of the judges who went through a list of candidates before signing off on the most deserving of the lot.

Pauline Burrell, 49, wore a permanent smile when she visited the office upstairs Juici Plaza to collect her new glasses, ready within a week of that memorable call telling her she was chosen.

After she got the exciting news, Burrell said she is now able to read her Bible during her devotions, something she hasn’t been able to do in years.

“Actually my eyes have been giving me problems for a couple of years. I did get glasses but the medicine went out and for years now I really want one, I was in an accident and things got bad,” she said. “It’s a blessing when I got that call. I’m so happy. Oh, God is good.”

When Anita Miller Meikle got the call she had an instant battle suppressing her emotions at work. Office protocol made it “very difficult” for her to scream with pure joy.

“This is the first time I have won anything, so I feel very happy about it,” said the New Harbour Village IV resident. “I said ‘thank you Jesus!’ But I had to keep calm and composed because I am in the office and I don’t want anybody to look at me strange. Then I went into one of the function rooms and I said: ‘Yes! Thank you Jesus! My time now!’”

And it’s double the excitement in Miller Meikle’s home as her mother-in-law Rhona Gordon-Meikle is one of the recipients as well. “It’s like overjoyed, overwhelmed. It’s like wow!” said the 59-year-old while noting her daily challenges of helping her grandchildren with their homework and reading the Word of God. After choosing her glasses, she added: “Thanks a lot because right now I can hardly see.”

“I was so excited, so excited,” Kareen Henry exclaimed as she recalled the moment she got the good news. “I was at work and my supervisor asked me what I was laughing about and I told him. I really need the glasses because I was making a lot of mistakes at work.” As a single mom, with a one year old daughter, the Bannister resident feels a huge “relief” receiving this gift.

Joining the four ladies we spoke to are 75-year-old John Binnock of Old Harbour Bay, Angela Johnson, 58, who has an amputated leg and 69-year-old Hart Street resident Gloria Maragh.
The decision to give back to the community they served so passionately hasn’t been lost on the winners either.

Burrell, who resides in New Harbour Village II, said: “I think this is a good thing, because a lot of people are really in need and can’t really afford glasses, and so I think Old Harbour Optical is doing a really good job and should keep up the good work.”

Proprietor of Old Harbour Optical Gillian Byles Lee said they are proud to give back to the people of Old Harbour, noting that close to a million dollars in kind was expended during the campaign.

“It is often said that many business owners, who reside outside of Old Harbour do not give back to the community,” said Byles-Lee. “One of our core values is to ensure that we support the community. Frankly we have been supportive of the community since we establish in 2012, albeit not on a grand scale. But our partnership with Old Harbour News has really pushed us into the consciousness of the people in Old Harbour and so we are looking to build on this successful 10th anniversary promotion.”

“I really appreciate the gesture in terms of its not about who you know. This is my first time coming here, so just to see that it is for everybody and I had a chance to be selected, I’m really happy about that,” added Miller-Meikle.

This gift could not have come at a better time for Miller-Meikle who stated this is a start of a relationship “for me and my family” that could last for generations.

Editor's Note: Visit Old Harbour Optical social media pages to view additional photos of winners.