J Lawton Smith Award Recipient

J Lawton Smith was one of the original founders of the COS. He was globally well known as a neuroophthalmologist who was charismatic in practice and his faith!

The J Lawton Smith Award is given out each year at the COS Annual Meeting to an ophthalmologist who has shown a lifetime commmitment to serving the Lord through their personal practice of excellence in medicine, academic influence, and/or missionary dedication.

Charisma & teaching in the pattern of JLS

Recipient:

Brad Farris

Home:

Oklahoma City, OK

Specialty:

Neuroophthalmology

Award Year:

2013

His life mission “to be a character with character”
written by Kenny Lao

What comes to my mind as I think about Dr. Brad Farris as the J Lawton Smith Award recipient?

I think about how much I cherish my mentor, my teacher, and my friend during that tremendous 1-year fellowship. I miss the whipped cream in a freshly Keurig-brewed cup of breakfast blend, his custom Nike kicks, the gentle sarcasm and soothing mockery “you are killing me” as I’m trying to close the conjunctiva with my non-dominant hand while listening to his eclectic OR playlist with K-pop to opera to Pitbull, the sigh of relief and a slowing of the pulse that follows the liberation of clear fluid from the optic nerve dural sheath, our short trips to a Kitchen-324 gourmet brunch or a savory large bowl of Vietnamese pho noodle soup in his fully-loaded BMW X5 M, staffing Thunder games in hopes KD will catch a finger to the eye and require our much-needed expertise, sharing sauteed Sichuan locusts and rural Chinese turtle soup while watching his dream of a Chinese Eye Institute come to fruition, and watching him fiddle with the latest electronic gadgets while wearing his Friday-only stylish skinny jeans and high-end boots. I will always remember the relentless devotion to his bride, and above all, how he has modeled for us all a life of faith in our Maker.

I’m thankful I could spend a year with Dr. Farris — a man who has successfully fulfilled his life mission — “To be a character with character.”

Dr Kenny Lao, Dr. Brad Farris and Dr. Paul Chen

Dr Brad Farris and Dr. Kenny Lao in China

JLS Award Recipients

Year	Name
1992	Ronald Seely, MD
1993	Hollis W Clark, MD
1994	Norval E Christy, MD
1995	David G Haney, MD
1996	Van Joffrion, MD
1997	Margaret Brand, MD
1998	Jack C Cooper, MD
1999	J James Rowsey, MD
2000	Curtis D Benton, Jr, MD
2001	Lowell Gess, MD
2002	Glen Brindley, MD
2002	Bill Rowlett, MD
2003	Frank Winter, MD
2004	J Donald M Gass, MD
2005	Roger DeHaven, MD
2006	John Costin, MD
2007	Bill Jarrett
2008	Juan Batlle, MD
2009	William Conrad, MD
2010	James P Gills, MD
2011	Robert Serros, MD
2012	Paul Palmberg, MD
2013	Brad Farris, MD
2014	Enoch Tsai, MD
2015	Bert Bowden, MD
2016	George Chin, MD
2017	Kyle Smith, MD
2018	Dan Gold, MD
2019	Glenn Strauss, MD
2020	Jono Pons, MD
2021	Robert Rice, MD
2022	Jacob Prabhakar, MD
2023	Mike Siatkowski, MD