The University of Oklahoma at Tulsa College of Pharmacy Wins the 2014 Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition

PRESS RELEASE

Austin, Tex. (Oct. 20, 2014) — A team of pharmacy students from the University of Oklahoma at Tulsa College of Pharmacy was named the winner of

the 2014 Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition

. A team from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Pharmacy is runner-up, and a team representing the University of California, San Francisco School of Pharmacy finished as the second-runner up. The decisions were made after a spirited

live competition on Oct. 18 at the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) Annual Convention in Austin.

“This year we had a record-setting number of teams compete in the Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition, a clear indication that students are excited to learn about what it takes to become a successful pharmacy owner,” said pharmacist Mark Riley, PharmD, NCPA president, executive vice president and CEO of the Arkansas Pharmacists Association, and an independent pharmacy owner in Little Rock, Ark. “Every team is well deserving of praise for their business plans, and the finalists’ live presentations were outstanding. Congratulations to this year’s winning team from the University of Oklahoma at Tulsa College of Pharmacy and to the runners up the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Pharmacy and the University of California, San Francisco School of Pharmacy for their efforts. With students like these the future of independent community pharmacies is in safe hands.”

The 2014 competition drew participants from 42 schools and colleges of pharmacy across the Unites States. This is the first national competition of its kind in the pharmacy profession and started more than a decade ago. The contest is named in honor of two great champions of independent community pharmacy, the late Neil Pruitt, Sr. and the late H. Joseph Schutte. The competition’s goal is to motivate pharmacy students to create a business model for buying an existing independent community pharmacy or developing a new one. Through this competition, NCPA is helping to prepare tomorrow’s pharmacy entrepreneurs. The competition is supported by Good Neighbor Pharmacy, Pharmacists Mutual Companies, and the NCPA Foundation.

The three finalist teams made

exciting, live competition

presentations of their business plans before the competition judges and a large audience at NCPA’s convention. The teams were also honored at the NCPA Foundation's Award Ceremony on Sunday afternoon. The results of the competition were announced during the Opening General Session.

"The NCPA Foundation is dedicated to bringing independent community pharmacy owners of the past, present and future together to ensure patients can continue accessing and benefitting from these vital health care providers," said Sharlea Leatherwood, PD, NCPA Foundation President. “We are most proud of the Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition because many participants have gone to be successful pharmacy owners whose entrepreneurial plunge was made easier by this experience.”

The University of Oklahoma at Tulsa College of Pharmacy team members are Latosha Zugelder, Lindsey Crane and Lindsay Bebout. The team adviser is Katherine O'Neal and the Dean is JoLaine Dragaulis. Their chapter received $3,000, and $3,000 was contributed to the school in the dean’s name to promote independent pharmacy. The team members, team advisor, and the dean will also receive complimentary registration, travel, and lodging to NCPA’s 2015 Multiple Locations Conference.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Pharmacy team members are Brandon Achor, Leah Cyphers, Ashle Reid and Julianna Marcus. The team advisor is Schwanda Flowers and the Dean is Stephanie Gardner. Their chapter received $2,000, and $2,000 was contributed to the school in the dean’s name to promote independent pharmacy.

The University of California, San Francisco School of Pharmacy team members are Jay Barcelon, Chris Foo, Nancy Wong and Mariko Yokokura. The team advisor is Brian Komoto, and the Dean is B. Joseph Guglielmo. Their chapter received $1,000, and $1,000 was contributed to the school in the dean’s name to promote independent pharmacy.

All newly participating schools receive a plaque commemorating their participation in the competition. Schools that already were awarded a plaque in a previous year receive an engraved plate to add to their plaque. Teams placing in the top 10 receive a special plate acknowledging this distinction.

The remaining finalists in the top 10 are:

Midwestern University College of Pharmacy-Glendale; Ohio Northern University-Raabe College of Pharmacy; Roseman University of Health Sciences College of Pharmacy; University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy; University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy—Oklahoma City Campus; University of the Pacific—Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy; and the University of Washington School of Pharmacy.

Judges for this year's written competition were: Bill Osborn, Beverly Schaefer, Bhavesh Desai, Bill Letendre, Bob Jones, Brad Arthur, Brian Caswell, C.A. Kuykendall, Charlie Le Bon, Cheri Garvin, Christian Tadrus, Danny Cottrell, Danny Nelson, Deborah Leedahl, Dennis Witkowski, Dorinda Martin, Ed Heckman, Ed Horton, Ed Webman, Elaine Ladd, Frances Cohenour, Glenn Eldridge, Holly Henry, Jake Olson, Jason Montgomery, Jeff Carson, Jeff Harrell, Jennifer Hughes, Jennifer Zilka, Jerra Banwarth, Joe Lech, Joe Moose, John Pross, John Voliva, Justin Wilson, Kristen Riddle, Lea Wolsoncroft, Lonny Wilson, Margaret O'Neil, Matthew Dreckmeier, Mike Vesely, Nasir Mahmood, Parthiv Shah, Paul Satterfield, Phyllis Houston, Rich Moon, Rob Frankil, Stacey Swartz, Steve Giroux, Tanya Mericle, Theresa Tolle and Whitney Bouknight.

The judges for this year's live competition were: Donnie Calhoun, Ed Horton, Don McGuire, Paul Satterfield, Sharlea Leatherwood and Jimmy Neil.

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The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA®) represents the interests of America's community pharmacists, including the owners of nearly 23,000 independent community pharmacies. Together they represent an $88.8 billion health care marketplace, dispense nearly 40% of all retail prescriptions, and employ more than 300,000 individuals, including over 62,000 pharmacists. To learn more, go to

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