Posted by: Clemson Eye in Media Releases
Local cycling celebrity, George Hincapie, announces “Cycle into Free Lasik!” contest winner.
- Cycling story contest garners nearly 500 voters
- Travis Peacock’s story takes more than 40 per cent of the votes
- Upstate has become a cycling mecca, attracting more and more cyclists to the area –resulting in a big boon to local economy
- Spectrum Lasik contest designed to highlight the link between fitness, eye health and the incredible network of cycling trails, paths, clubs and resources in Upstate South Carolina.
GREENVILLE, SC, October 4, 2013 – On September 21, 2013, Spectrum Lasik, a Clemson Eye company, announced the winner of its inaugural “Cycle into Free Lasik!” story contest.
“I’m so grateful for this contest and the free Lasik,” says contest winner Travis Peacock. “I’ve been having trouble seeing since high school. My glasses and contacts have always interfered with my training – whether that was as a serviceman in Iraq or as an endurance athlete. I really can’t wait to compete without contacts. I’m pumped!”
Travis, a resident of Anderson, SC, has been an endurance athlete since age 13. He competed in track and field events all over South Carolina as a middle- and long-distance runner. In 2001, he went to Europe to compete on an international level. Out of high school, Travis joined the Army. He was deployed in Iraq for one year, and then returned to the Upstate. He began cycling in 2010 and “has not slowed down since!”
George Hincapie was Spectrum Lasik’s cycling story contest judge. He was a professional rider for 19 years, competing in the classics, the Tour de France 17 times, and winning three U.S. National Road Race championships. “When Spectrum Lasik approached me to help judge the cycling story contest, it struck me as a sort of trifecta,” says Hincapie. “It was a chance to promote the excellent cycling in the area, raise awareness about the importance of fitness to eye health, and provide one lucky cyclist with free laser eye surgery. What’s not to like?”
Recent news reports estimate cycling and cycling tourism are contributing more than
$20 million to the local economy annually. This figure includes bike sales, tours, annual cycling events and more than 30 cycling-related businesses in the Greenville area.
Regular exercise, such as cycling, can protect against cataracts, age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma; three leading causes of vision loss in the United States. It also has indirect protective effects on eye health, as many eye diseases are linked to other health problems like high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity – all of which can be avoided or mitigated through regular exercise.
“The importance of regular exercise to eye health is not well understood by most Americans,” says Dr. Joseph Parisi, chief ophthalmologist and medical director at Clemson Eye. “To encourage more of our patients and community members to cycle for their visual health, we set up the ‘Cycle into Free Lasik’ contest. I cycle regularly myself and truly believe there is no better way to enjoy our beautiful state and keep fit,” he adds.
Dr. Parisi will be performing Travis Peacock’s laser eye surgery. All the “Cycle into Free Lasik! story contest finalists can be seen at www.spectrumlasik.com
Photographs and interviews with Travis Peacock, George Hincapie and Dr. Joe Parisi are available upon request.
Dr. Parisi and his medical partners at Clemson Eye have served patients in the Upstate for more than 40 years through their full-service clinics in Greenville, Anderson, Easley, Clemson, and a LASIK center, Spectrum Lasik, in Greenville. The eye doctors at Clemson Eye include Drs. Leroy Howard, Buddy Thompson, Brian Johnson, Donald Glaser, and Joseph Parisi. Together, they have more than 100 years of ophthalmic experience and have performed more than 50,000 cataract, microsurgical and LASIK procedures.
