Decades of Service Don't Dim Lakeland Optometrist's Drive

FOR THE PAST 15 or more years, Janet Bailey, her husband, and their daughter have relied on one doctor for their eyecare: Dr. Gerard Hubbell.

- PAUL CATALA

And for the past 43 years, thousands of Polk County residents like the Baileys have relied on Hubbell’s experience, expertise and down-home southern mannerisms to see things the right way.

Since establishing The Hubbell Eye Clinic and Optical Lab in Lakeland, Hubbell has consistently earned awards and accolades from optical institutions and organizations while earning praise from patients like the Baileys.

A visit with the mild-mannered optometrist is more akin to a meeting with a friend, and that’s one of the reasons the Baileys count themselves among the doctor’s many satisfied customers.

“I know he seems laid back but he knows exactly what he’s doing, and he always gets it right,” says Janet Bailey, a paralegal. “He’s friendly; he’s cordial. We always have a nice conversation when I’m there. I don’t think you can ask for a better hometown optometrist.”

During a recent workday morning in the 4,300-square-feet South Florida Avenue eye clinic Hubbell opened in 1985, Hubbell goes over his schedule of patients for the day. A former wine warehouse, the current Eye Clinic and Optical Lab is the second clinic location since the doctor first opened in 1979 in Ingraham Plaza.

Hubbell, 72, says although he’s been in the optometry business for more than four decades, he’s always on the lookout for the latest eyecare improvements and technological updates.

“It’s been a growing process from when we moved. We’ve improved, and I do as much as I can every day to make things better,” he says.