NCPA recognizes indie pharmacists at annual convention

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) is doling out numerous awards at its annual convention, including the 2026 NCPA Willard B. Simmons Independent Pharmacy of the Year Award to T.J. Woodward, PharmD, owner of Prescriptions to Geaux in Baton Rouge, La.

This annual award is given to a pharmacist who exhibits exemplary professional leadership, service to community and commitment to independent pharmacy. It is named in honor of Willard B. Simmons, a former executive secretary of NCPA (then known as the National Association of Retail Druggists or NARD) and a longtime trustee of the NCPA Foundation.  

Woodward and his wife, Aimee, who is also a pharmacist opened their first pharmacy in downtown Baton Rouge in 2013, after working for several years in retail chain pharmacies. He is actively involved in the pharmacy profession at both the state and national levels, serving on the board of directors of the Louisiana Independent Pharmacies Association and on NCPA’s Committee on State Legislation and Regulation.

Other pharmacists being recognized at the event, Oct. 3-6 in Kansas City, Mo.:

• Steve Giroux, owner of Middleport Family Health Center in Middleport, N.Y., received the 2026 Calvin J. Anthony Lifetime Achievement Award. This award honors a pharmacist who has dedicated their career to the advancement of the pharmacy profession. Anthony, who died earlier this year, had a distinguished pharmacy career, starting as an independent community pharmacy owner in Stillwater, Okla. He went on to serve on multiple pharmacy organizational boards, as National Association of Retail Druggists (now NCPA) president from 1993-1994, and as NCPA’s executive president for a five-year term.
• Jessica Hung, co-owner of Semmes Pharmacy in Semmes, Ala., received the 2026 NARD Ownership Award. This award, which this year was sponsored by Cascadia Pharmacy Group, recognizes an independent community pharmacist who embraces entrepreneurial spirit through promotion and demonstrated excellence in the field of community pharmacy ownership.
• Xiaoyan Qin, PharmD, of Newton Center, Mass., received the 2026 Sharlea Leatherwood Memorial Trailblazer Award. This award is given to someone who is blazing the trail for independent pharmacy owners and future generations of independent pharmacy.
• Blake Torres, co-owner and managing partner of West Side Pharmacy and Compounding, was named the recipient of the 2026 National Preceptor of the Year Award. This award recognizes a pharmacist who has made a significant contribution to the education of pharmacy students as a preceptor in a community practice setting.

The NCPA is holding its annual convention Oct. 3-6 in Kansas City, Mo.