NCPA Names 2017 Willard B. Simmons Independent Pharmacist of the Year

Officials with the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) have named Lynn Connelly, RPh, owner of Medicine Mart Pharmacy in Chapin, S.C. the 2017 Willard B. Simmons Independent Pharmacist of the Year. Connelly received his award during the Opening General Session of the NCPA 2017 Annual Convention being held this week.

A graduate of the University of South Carolina, Connelly has been the owner of Medicine Mart Pharmacy since 1982. Connelly is a member of the South Carolina Pharmacy Association, including serving as its president from 2005-2006, and has been the South Carolina Pharmacy Association Foundation's chair since 2012. He is also an active member of NCPA, the American Pharmacists Association, and the Christian Pharmacists Fellowship International.

Connelly is politically active in pharmacy issues. In South Carolina, he was instrumental in helping to pass a prescription drug monitoring program, establish one of the highest state dispensing fees in the United States, bring more transparency to generic prescription drug reimbursements, create an "any willing provider" provision, produce fairer pharmacy audits, and open up immunizations to pharmacists. He is also very active with pharmacy issues at the federal level.

In addition, Connelly runs a pharmacy residency program that employs approximately 6 pharmacy students annually. He has won numerous awards over the years, including most recently the 2016-2017 University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy's Outstanding Alumnus award.

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

The award is sponsored by Upsher-Smith Laboratories, LLC.