The years just went by fast, and you just work hard, and I enjoy people. And, you know, I'm just glad everybody came to me, trusted me.”

Dr. Joe Slapnicher

The consistency, getting up every day, and being consistent with the way you take care of patients, the way you run your business, the way you treat your staff. It is a grind at times, but if you really put your all into it, the things that you are shooting for as a goal come to fruition, because there's no shortcut, right? I mean, you just have to make it happen day in and day out.”

Dr. Eric Slapnicher

To have a small-town business for fifty years is quite the achievement and Rivertown Eye Care checked that box last week during the celebration of Dr. Joe Slapnicher’s retirement. In honor of the retirement, the staff of Rivertown Eye Care threw a 70’s themed party to see Dr. Joe off in style.
Dr. Joe served Hastings’ area residents for nearly 51 years and his son Eric followed in his footsteps. Dr. Eric graduated from Hastings in 1992 and then earned his degree in optometry in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 2001.
According to Dr. Eric, a big part of running a successful business that he learned from his dad is consistency.
“The consistency, getting up every day, and being consistent with the way you take care of patients, the way you run your business, the way you treat your staff. It is a grind at times, but if you really put your all into it, the things that you are shooting for as a goal come to fruition, because there's no shortcut, right? I mean, you just have to make it happen day in and day out,” said Dr. Eric.
“The years just went by fast, and you just work hard, and I enjoy people. And, you know, I'm just glad everybody came to me, trusted me,” said Dr. Joe.
He never really worried about the business side of things, and he focused on doing his job and taking care of people, ‘letting the cards fall where they fall’ and having those people come back to celebrate his retirement means the world to him and the special nature of that kind of support was visible in his eyes.
To Hastings, “I would say, thank you so much for supporting our business and I love the community. I love Hastings, love the people in it. I mean, it's great. I'm just fortunate to have moved here, had my practice here and raised my family here,” he said.
In regard to the family side of things, with Dr. Eric continuing on the Rivertown Eye Care business, Dr. Joe is quite proud.
“It makes me feel great that he is carrying the business forward. I mean, he is an awesome optometrist. He really is, always a straight A student. He's smart, he's a good clinician, he cares about patients, and cares about how he treats people and everything. So that makes me feel really good. I'm just proud of Eric, and proud that he's carried on the practice and taking it to the next level,” added Dr. Joe.
Dr. Eric was able to work with his dad for 22 years so to see so many people show up to celebrate his dad was a neat moment for him.
“It's amazing. It just goes to show you that he is not just going through the motions. I mean, these are his friends. This is like an extension of his family, which is not always the case, you know. And it's a well-deserved celebration for him. In this day and age to run a business and do what he's done for as long as he has is nothing to sneeze at. It's rare these days, especially in the healthcare industry,” he said.
Dr. Eric has three kids of his own, a 14-year-old and 11-year-old twins, but he is not pushing them in any direction because he truly did not make his decision until he was 18.
“I try not to push them in any direction. I sometimes will just throw things out there. But they are just so involved in their activities, and I don't think they really have thought about it too much, but I would obviously love it if one of them, or more, showed interest. I think for me, my dad never pressured me at all either. I always thought in the back of my mind, oh, that'd be a cool line of work, but it was a very slow build to get to that point. Once I was in optometry school, I really, really loved it,” he explained.
Like Dr. Joe, Dr. Eric is thankful for the support of the community.
“The amount of gratitude we have to this community… Our patients are just incredible people. It's an honor to be able to serve this community and these people. It is an honor to be able to come back to the place I was born and stay connected to the old teachers, the friends, to serve some of the second and third generations of families I grew up with. I am getting to the point where I am seeing the kids of people when I first started with them starting families, it’s pretty cool,” he added. “When you see things come full circle, it means more, too.”
Dr. Eric hopes he can reach the fifty-year service mark like his dad did, and who knows, maybe the full circle moment will be when his now 14-year-old takes over in 15 or so years.
For now, we wish Dr. Joe an amazing retirement full of great memories with his family. Congratulations sir!