During the Second General Session of the recent National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) 2018 Annual Convention held from October 6-9 in Boston, Jim Spoon, PharmD, owner of Spoon Drug in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, was named the NCPA Willard B. Simmons Independent Pharmacist of the Year.

Sponsored by Upsher-Smith Laboratories, LLC, the annual award recognizes an independent pharmacist for exemplary leadership and commitment to independent pharmacy and their community. The award is named in honor of Willard B. Simmons, a former executive secretary of NCPA (then known as the National Association of Retail Druggists) and a longtime trustee of the NCPA Foundation. Simmons “exemplified these qualities.”

Awarding the honor to Dr. Spoon, NCPA President David Smith, RPh, commented, “Jim Spoon has proven himself a very worthy recipient of the 2018 Willard B. Simmons Independent Pharmacist of the Year Award.” He added, “Jim has been a tireless advocate for independent community pharmacy over the years, helping shape not only its future but the future of his community through service. I am proud to honor Jim with this award and recognize him for his work on behalf of community pharmacy in Oklahoma and beyond."

Rusty Field, president and CEO, Upsher-Smith, remarked, “Upsher-Smith is delighted to join with NCPA in recognizing Dr. Spoon, an outstanding independent pharmacist who has served his community, his patients, and his profession tirelessly for almost four decades. We are proud to honor Dr. Spoon for his exemplary service to his community, a quality shared by our nation's community pharmacists, and for exhibiting outstanding leadership in all of his endeavors.”

In addition to contributing countless hours of service to his community, Dr. Spoon is a member of his town council and is a former member of the Sand Springs Board of Education, a position he held for 20 years. He has held all offices in the Oklahoma Pharmacists Association, including president, and served on the Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy for almost two decades. Dr. Spoon is an active NCPA member, having been a member for more than 25 years and serving on several steering committees over the past 14 years.

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