NCPA Announces 2018 Independent Pharmacist of the Year

Jim Spoon, PharmD, owner of Spoon Drug in Sand Springs, OK, has been named the National Community Pharmacists Association 2018 Willard B. Simmons Independent Pharmacist of the Year. Announced at the NCPA's 2018 Annual Convention in Boston, the award is sponsored by Upsher-Smith Laboratories.

The Independent Pharmacist of the Year award recognizes an independent pharmacist for exemplary leadership and commitment to independent pharmacy and their community. The award is named in honor of someone who exemplified these qualities: Willard B. Simmons, a former executive secretary of NCPA (formerly known as the National Association of Retail Druggists) and a longtime trustee of the NCPA Foundation.

“Jim Spoon has proven himself a very worthy recipient of the 2018 Willard B. Simmons Independent Pharmacist of the Year Award," said NCPA President David Smith, RPh, in a prepared statement. "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.”

Spoon received his BS in Pharmacy in 1975 from Southwestern Oklahoma State University and received his PharmD from the University of Oklahoma in 2002. He opened Spoon Drug in 1979 and expanded to a second location in 2008. Spoon also purchased T. Roy Barnes Pharmacy in 1987, and expanded the brand to 3 locations in Tulsa.

Spoon has been a member of NCPA for 25 years, during which he has served on several steering committees, and remains active in the organization. He also has held all offices in the Oklahoma Pharmacists Association, including president, and served on the Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy for nearly 2 decades. In addition to his professional service to his community, Spoon is a member of his town council and a former member of the Sand Springs Board of Education, a position he held for 20 years.

In a prepared statement, Rusty Field, President and CEO of Upsher-Smith, said Spoon is an outstanding independent pharmacist who has served his community, his patients, and his profession for nearly 40 years.

“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," said Field.

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Reference

Jim Spoon Named NCPA 2018 Independent Pharmacist of the Year [news release]. Boston, MA; October 8, 2018: NCPA website. https://www.ncpanet.org/newsroom/news-releases/2018/10/08/jim-spoon-named-ncpa-2018-independent-pharmacist-of-the-year. Accessed October 8, 2018.