Sharlea Leatherwood Recognized for Decades of Community Pharmacy Leadership and Service with 2016 John W. Dargavel Medal
Sharlea Leatherwood, PD, a community pharmacist who shaped the community pharmacy industry through her leadership and advocacy efforts, was awarded the 2016 John W. Dargavel Medal today by the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) Foundation during a ceremony at NCPA's 2016 Annual Convention in New Orleans.
PRESS RELEASE
NEW ORLEANS (Oct. 17, 2016) Sharlea Leatherwood, PD, a community pharmacist who shaped the community pharmacy industry through her leadership and advocacy efforts, was awarded the 2016 John W. Dargavel Medal today by the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) Foundation during a ceremony at NCPA's 2016 Annual Convention in New Orleans. Leatherwood was recognized for her past leadership of NCPA and the NCPA Foundation.
sponsors the annual award that honors an individual whose contributions on behalf of independent pharmacy embody the spirit of leadership and accomplishment personified by John W. Dargavel, who was executive secretary of the National Association of Retail Druggists (NARD), now NCPA, from 1933 to 1961.
"Having worked with Sharlea to advance community pharmacy for many years on the board of the NCPA Foundation, I am proud to present this honor to a friend and colleague who exemplifies what it means to be a leader in our profession," said Charles West, PD, President of the NCPA Foundation. "Sharlea has always been a forward-thinker, and her advocacy work over the years helped inspire a new vision for what the pharmacy profession is capable of when it comes to helping patients achieve better health outcomes. NCPA, the NCPA Foundation, and community pharmacy are stronger today because of Sharlea's visionary leadership."
"McKesson is pleased to honor Sharlea Leatherwood with the prestigious Dargavel Award for her contributions to community pharmacy. Her leadership has advanced the profession immeasurably and her dedication to community pharmacy is an inspiration to us all," said Rex Catton, senior vice president, McKesson U.S. Pharmaceutical. "We are proud to have worked with the NCPA Foundation to sponsor this prestigious award and look forward to continuing our long-standing relationship with NCPA."
Leatherwood became the first female NCPA board officer in 1992 and later the first female NCPA president in 2003. Always looking to help community pharmacists expand their innovative practice efforts, during her term as president Leatherwood helped to found the National Institute for Pharmacist Care Outcomes (NIPCO), a disease state management education program. She also spearheaded an effort to get pharmacists paid and recognized for their clinical labors.
After her term as NCPA president ended, Leatherwood continued her leadership in the industry by becoming a member of the NCPA Foundation's Board of Trustees. She was elected as the Foundation's president and led the nonprofit organization for eight years, helping to expand the Foundation's assistance programs and strengthen its resources.
Leatherwood is a 1981 graduate of the University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Pharmacy and owned four diverse community pharmacies as well as a medical equipment company over the course of her career. She is the past president of both the Missouri Pharmacy Association and the Missouri Board of Pharmacy.
