PDS Optical

10/22/2026

Family. Friendship. Service.

Last month, three U.S. Army Veterans, who served during the Vietnam War, came together again in Washington D.C as part of our Lone Eagle Honor Flight trip.

Meet Bill Roby, Fred Betz and Jay Misback.

These three Veterans have a long, winding history of friendship and supporting each other's families through challenging times while serving.

During our tour around D.C., Bill, Fred and Jay took time to share their story and discuss a range of topics, including: staying connected to the Veteran community, enrolling in VA healthcare and other topics many Veterans discuss openly or privately.

We learned that they held a "Watch Party" this week and gathered again, this time, inviting their families and a few close friends, to relive the Honor Flight trip and share this conversation and experience with them.

Bill, Fred and Jay, thank you for your service and also taking time to share your stories and experiences with us and many others.

Side note: Their respective adult sons joined them as Guardians on this trip, which made it extra meaningful.

We hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptAXCKrgKLc&t=17s

10/20/2026

George "Eddie" Figueron, a 20-year United States Air Force Veteran, has an important message for younger Veterans.

"Get involved."

Eddie has a unique perspective spanning about 40 years of service across the Air Force, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) - U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, DAV and other Veteran Service Organizations for which he has volunteered.

Thank you for all you do, Eddie.

And thank you for sharing your experiences and perspectives with us and so many Veterans across the country.

10/19/2026

Baker, COO of PDS Optical, was recognized by Louisville Business First, as one of the "20 People to Know in Manufacturing."

Steven has been in the optical industry for 40 years, so he's seen it all.

We appreciate Steven's dedication to our company, employees and especially, our Veteran customers.

Thank you Louisville Business First for featuring a great person and industry thought leader.

We’re proud to share that Steven Baker, COO of PDS Optical, has been recognized by Louisville Business First as one of its 20 People to Know in Manufacturing. With 40 years in the industry, Steven’s career began at a lens edging machine, where he learned the value of working together toward a co...

10/16/2026

Thank you Kentucky Association of Manufacturers for sharing our story, great people and mission to serve Veterans across the country. We appreciate it.

"PDS Optical, based in Louisville, is a dedicated provider of high-quality prescription eyewear for U.S. Veterans. PDS Optical’s manufacturing engineer, Ellis Cassity, is pictured with The Perfect Drying System, a patent-pending device he designed which has revolutionized the lens-drying and verification process, yielding significant improvements in efficiency and quality. The innovation has greatly enhanced the company’s ability to provide Veterans’ eyewear with pride, dignity and service." PDS Optical
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This October, KAM is celebrating Manufacturing Month by highlighting the stunning variety of manufacturers across the commonwealth. Please join us in lifting up our neighbors who make the products which drive our economy!

10/14/2026

People across our company have conversations with Veterans every day.

We serve them in various ways, and we think it's really important to listen to, learn from, and be inspired by them.

The conversations span a range of topics, which makes the experience all the more worthwhile.

Because it's important for Veterans to hear from other Veterans, we'll share more of these conversations, which cover important topics in the Veteran community.

Let us introduce George "Eddie" Figueron, from Louisiana, who served in the United States Air Force for 20 years and then in the Department of Defense and Veterans Health Administration (VHA) - U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs system for another 19 years.

He's a tremendous person and he was gracious with his time during our recent trip to D.C. as part of our Lone Eagle Honor Flight trip.

Thank you for your time, Eddie. We appreciate you and thank you for your service!

10/14/2026

VIPS is our neighbor and a great organization. We love to partner with them. For those that aren't familiar with VIPS, they provide early intervention services to children who are blind or have low vision. Their community of kids are an inspiring bunch!

Attention VIPS Families! Bring your child's eyeglass prescription to our Louisville office on October 9th, and PDS Optical will fit your child with a free pair of glasses. We are grateful to PDS Optical for making this incredible contribution to our community! For more information or to reserve your time slot, contact Kirsten Schmidt.

10/13/2026

We want to congratulate Bill Dufort, Navy Veteran and Director of Operations (Kentucky Lab) on a tremendous career and life of service.

“Bill has spent his career serving others, from his years in the United States to his leadership at PDS Optical. I am incredibly grateful for his dedication to our people, our mission, and especially our Nation’s Veterans," said Sean Loosen, PDS Optical CEO.

Bill is a shining example of "Veterans serving Veterans."

From all of us at PDS Optical, thank you for your service, everything you've accomplished and all you've done for Veterans across the country.

(Link to the press release in the comments)

09/22/2026

Staying connected to people and being a part of a community is really important.

We can all agree on this.

This past weekend, PDS Optical had the privilege of being surrounded by a great group of people, most notably, an amazing cohort of ~ 40 Veterans who served in the WWII, Korean and Vietnam wars.

We proudly partnered with Honor Flight Network on our second Lone Eagle Honor Flight, flying our nation’s senior Veterans to Washington D.C., to visit the memorials dedicated to honoring their service and sacrifice.

This isn't an ordinary trip. It's an experience that brings people together through service and mutual appreciation.

Our Veterans deserve to feel appreciated and remain an integral part of a larger community.

The smiles, connectivity and love captured in those moments represent the mission we set out on this past weekend.

And that mission was accomplished, but it's not finished.

We look forward to sharing more in the coming weeks, but wanted to thank Honor Flight, the many volunteers and most importantly, the who joined us.

Keep smiling. 🇺🇸

09/17/2026

PDS Optical is proud to celebrate Evan Cassity, who was recognized as one of Vision Monday's "40 Under 40" New Generation of Optical Leaders Driving the Industry Forward.

Our entire company takes Veteran eye health and the prescription glasses we manufacture for Veterans very seriously, and in doing so, we strive to attract the best possible talent.

Evan improves our team, drives innovation and raises the standard for how we serve our Veteran customers.

Big congratulations on this well-deserved recognition, Evan!

09/15/2026

Partnering with the Honor Flight Network as a Lone Eagle Honor Flight sponsor last year was a first for us.

In short, it was an incredibly humbling and fulfilling experience to be a part of.

Veterans are a special bunch.

We've decided to return this year, bringing a new cohort that deserves this experience and camaraderie.

We're excited to meet them later this week.

More info about "our" next group here:

“Veterans helping Veterans” as service members spanning World War II, Korea, and Vietnam visit monuments established in their honor LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Sept. 14, 2026 — PDS Optical®, the nation’s leading eyewear provider for America’s Veterans, is proud to host its second annual Lone Eagl...