NCPA commemorates the best in pharmacy with awards presentation at conference
TAMPA, Fla. The National Community Pharmacists Association handed out awards and recognitions at its 110th annual convention and trade exposition in Tampa, Fla., which began Saturday and ends Wednesday.
“This year’s conference honors true leaders in community pharmacy for their contributions to our industry,” NCPA president Steve Giroux said.
The Student Chapter of the Year went to the chapter at the University of Southern California; the first runner up was Mercer University and the second runner-up is the University of Missouri at Kansas City. In addition, 56 pharmacy students were honored as NCPA Outstanding Student Chapter Member of the Year.
The National Preceptor of the Year is pharmacist Melissa Osborne, who has been a pharmacist for 17 years and works at Great Oak Pharmacy in Kansas City, Mo., and serves as a preceptor to about seven University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Pharmacy students every year.
The Calvin J. Anthony Lifetime Achievement Award went to American Pharmacists Association chief executive officer and executive vice president, John Gans.
The Lifetime Academic Achievement Award went to Jack Coffey, a pharmacist from Oklahoma who is a clinical associate professor at the University of Oklahoma’s College of Pharmacy.
The Willard B. Simmons Independent Pharmacist of the Year is Hugh Chancy, of Georgia. The award recognizes “an independent pharmacist for exemplary leadership and commitment to independent pharmacy and to the community.”
The John W. Dargavel Medal, sponsored by McKesson, went to pharmacist Calvin Anthony. The medal recognizes “those whose contributions on behalf of independent pharmacy embody the spirit of leadership and accomplishment” and is named for John Dargavel, executive secretary of the National Association of Retail Druggists, the predecessor of the NCPA.
The Corporate Recognition Award went to AmerisourceBergen, which is a network of almost 5,000 independently owned community pharmacies, including more than 3,000 Good Neighbor Pharmacy stores and more than 1,700 affiliated stores in the Good Neighbor Pharmacy Provider Network.
The NCPA Foundation Legacy Society welcomed four new inductees: David Elm, Nancy Pruitt and Joe and Betty Schutte, each of whom donated more than $10,000 to the NCPA Foundation. In addition, Elm, Sharlea and Gary Leatherwood, Joe and Betty Schutte, John and Karen Tilley and L.D. Sparks were named members of the foundation?s Visionary Class of 2008.
“This year’s conference attendance is 20 percent above last year’s participation and is a true testament to the commitment our members have to the pharmacy practice,” executive vice president and chief executive officer, Bruce Roberts, said.