The News from White's Incorporated

News Release
National Community Pharmacists Association
www.ncpanet.org

F O R    I M M E D I A T E    R E L E A S E

CONTACT:
Carol Cooke
Senior Director, External Communications
National Community Pharmacists Association
100 Daingerfield Rd
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 838-2686
carol.cooke@ncpanet.org

 WHITE NAMED WILLARD B. SIMMONS INDEPENDENT PHARMACIST OF THE YEAR

LAS VEGAS - October 09, 2006 Dirk T. White, RPh, has been named the 2006 Willard B. Simmons Independent Pharmacist of the Year by the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA). The announcement was made at the association’s 108th Annual Convention and Trade Exposition held Oct. 7—11 in Las Vegas.

The Independent Pharmacist of the Year award, sponsored by Roche, recognizes an independent pharmacist for exemplary leadership and commitment to independent pharmacy and to the community. The award is named in honor of Willard B. Simmons, a former NCPA (then the National Association of Retail Druggists) executive secretary and long-time NCPA Foundation trustee, who exemplified these qualities. White and his wife, Trish, also a pharmacist, own White’s Pharmacy and Harry Race Pharmacy and Photo in Sitka, Alaska.

Since fulfilling a long-time dream of moving to Alaska from his native Minnesota in the mid-1980s, White has dedicated his life to pharmacy and his seaside community of 9,100 residents. White earned the Young Pharmacist of the Year award from the Alaska Pharmacists Association just two years out of pharmacy school. After buying their first pharmacy in 1985, he and Trish expanded their business by buying a second store.

Throughout his career, White has been active in pharmacy associations on the state and national levels. He is a member and past president of the Alaska Pharmacists Association and has served on its board of directors. In addition to his membership in NCPA, White also holds memberships in the Professional Compounding Centers of America, International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists, American Pharmacists Association, American Association of Diabetes Educators, and Association of Natural Medicine Pharmacists.

“Even in the outermost reaches of the Alaskan shoreline, Dirk has proven that independent pharmacists play a vital role in their communities,” said Bruce Roberts, RPh, executive vice president and CEO of NCPA. “He is living his dream and, in doing so, has provided important health care services to his patients and enhanced the profile of the pharmacy profession.”

Just as his stores are a fixture in Sitka, White also is a key leader in his community. He is a member of the local Rotary International chapter and the secretary of the Sitka Club. He was a founding board member and three-term president of the Alaska Raptor Rehabilitation Center. He has been an on-air host of the local community public radio station and has served on the Alaska Communications System local advisory board. His pharmacy was awarded the Sitka Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year award in 1999.

White also has been an active member of NCPA, serving on NCPA’s home health care and legislative steering committees. He has moderated and served as a panelist on several convention sessions and has represented Alaska at the House of Delegates for more than 10 years.

White earned bachelor’s degrees in biology from the University of Minnesota and pharmacy from South Dakota State University.

As the recipient of the Willard B. Simmons Independent Pharmacist of the Year Award, White received an engraved plaque, a $1,000 cash award, and a $1,000 donation in his name to the South Dakota State University College of Pharmacy.

The National Community Pharmacists Association, founded in 1898 as the National Association of Retail Druggists, represents the nation’s community pharmacists, including the owners of more than 24,000 pharmacies. The nation’s independent pharmacies, independent pharmacy franchises, and independent chains dispense nearly half of the nation's retail prescription medicines.