2014 TPA Award Recipients
During the TPA Annual Convention in July 2014 and the TPA MidYear Meetings in 2015, the following TPA Award Recipients were honored for their excellence and dedication. To these extraordinary individuals— Congratulations! We appreciate your outstanding contributions to patients and the profession!
| Click on these links for more information about TPA and TSHP Awards: | TPA AWARDS | TSHP AWARDS |
| 2015 Recipients | 2015 Recipients | |
| 2014 Recipients | 2014 Recipients | |
| Earlier Recipients | Earlier Recipients |
Please click on the names below to learn more about TPA’s award-winning individuals!
| Richard Brown | Tom C. Sharp Pharmacist of the Year | |
| Bill Evans | Shelby Rhinehart Public Service Lifetime Achievement Award | |
| Randy Jerkins | Excellence in Innovation Award | |
| Kim Jones | Distinguished Young Pharmacist | |
| Sarah Melton | Cardinal Health Generation Rx Champions Award | |
| Bob Shutt | Bowl of Hygeia Community Service Award | |
| Charlie Walker | Herman Lubin Sales Representative of the Year | |
| Debra Wilson | Barbara McAndrew Herald Award |
J. RICHARD BROWN, BS, BS Pharm, PharmD, FASHP
Tom C. Sharp Pharmacist of the Year
| In 1965, following the death of Tom C. Sharp, Sr., who had served as Executive Director of TPA for 30 years, the Pharmacist of the Year Award was presented in his honor and has since borne his name. In 2001, the Award was re-named to honor the service of Tom C. Sharp, Jr., who succeeded his father as TPA Executive Director and served 30 years, as well. |
Richard Brown, BS Pharm, PharmD, FASHP, of Germantown, Tennessee, was presented the “Tom C. Sharp Pharmacist of the Year” Award. Sponsored by TPA, this award was instituted in 1958 to provide recognition to a member of the Association who has distinguished the profession and exudes excellence in the areas of teaching, patient care, leadership, service delivery and advocacy for the profession.
Recently retired as Professor in the UTHSC Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine, Dr. Brown received a BS in Biology from Lincoln Memorial University in 1969, and both BS and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy in 1974 and 1975. He completed a post-graduate residency in adult medicine in 1976 at the City of Memphis Hospital. He retained Board Certification as a Phamacotherapy Specialist (BCPS) from 1993 to 2007.
Dr. Brown has dedicated over 40 years to patient care services and began his career in the military during the Vietnam era on active duty as a US Army Medic Instructor at the Military’s Medical Training Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas in 1970-71. Dr. Brown served veteran patients as the first Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Internal Medicine and Director of Drug Information Services at the Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center in Memphis Tennessee for over 30 years and also served as a Professor in the University of Tennessee Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy. His primary responsibilities include clerkship training for Pharmacy students, and classroom lectures to both Pharmacy and Medical students. He was active as an instructor trainer in cardiac resuscitation for the American Heart Association and was an instructor in smoking cessation for the Memphis VA Medical Center for 20 years.
Dr. Brown has published several articles in peer reviewed journals and over four decades, has been invited to make numerous presentations at local, state and national meetings on drug related subjects.
He and his wife, Marsha, who is also a pharmacist, live in Germantown, Tennessee, and have two sons, Kaleb and Aaron, both of whom are UT College of Pharmacy graduates and are practicing hospital pharmacists in the Memphis area. He is a member of Bellevue Baptist Church, where he worships and serves in Bellevue’s Visitors Services Ministry.
Shelby Rhinehart Public Service Lifetime Achievement Award
William E. Evans, PharmD, of Memphis, Tennessee, was honored with the “Shelby Rhinehart Public Service Lifetime Achievement Award,” presented in recognition of an individual’s work through a distinguished career supportive of the pharmacy profession and who has met high public service standards set by the inaugural recipient, Representative Shelby A. Rhinehart.
Dr. William E. Evans is Director and Chief Executive Officer of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (SJCRH), holds the Donald Pinkel Chair of Childhood Cancer Treatment at St. Jude and is a Professor of Pediatrics and Pharmacy at the University of Tennessee Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy. He is the only pharmacist who has served as CEO of the leading children’s hospital.
For the past 36 years, his research at St. Jude has focused on the pharmacogenomics of anticancer agents in children, for which he has received three consecutive NIH MERIT Awards from the National Cancer Institute (1987-2015). The major disease focus of his pharmacogenomics research is acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children.
He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Rhodes College and recently completed service on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the US National Cancer Institute of NIH.
Dr. Evans has authored over 350 articles and numerous book chapters. He has received several national awards for his research, including the 2009 Pediatric Cancer Award from the ASCO (shared with Mary V. Relling of SJCRH), the 2009 Team Science Prize from AACR (shared with colleagues at St. Jude), the 2012 Remington Medal from APhA and the 2013 Hunter Award from ASCPT. He is recognized by ISI as a “Highly Cited Scientist” in pharmacology, based on citations of his research publications. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 2002.
Dr. Evans has served as CEO of SJCRH since 2004, during which time St. Jude has been ranked annually in the top 10 best places to work in academia by The Scientist magazine (#1 in 2006), ranked #1 children’s cancer hospital by Parents Magazine and US News and World Report, and listed by Fortune magazine among the top 100 companies to work for in the US (annually since 2011). St. Jude is the only NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center devoted solely to children, and received the top rating of “exceptional” during its 2013 site visit by NCI.
Excellence in Innovation Award
Randy K. Jerkins, PharmD, of Franklin, Tennessee, was presented with the “Excellence in Innovation Award.” This is a national award coordinated by the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations and sponsored by Upsher-Smith Laboratories, Inc., to recognize and honor a qualified pharmacist who has demonstrated significant innovation in their respective practice, method or service directly or indirectly resulting in improved patient care and or advancement of the profession of pharmacy.
Dr. Jerkins received his Bachelors of Science Degree in Biology from Lipscomb University, before going on to receive both his Bachelors of Science Pharmacy degree in 1985 and PharmD Degree in 1986 from the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy. He began is pharmacy career serving 15 years as the Assistant Director of Pharmacy Clinical Services at Williamson Medical Center in Franklin.
Currently, he has a faculty appointment with the Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy where he provides substantial classroom instruction as well as serving as a preceptor in the College’s experiential education program. He works in a collaborative practice with his wife, an endocrinologist, where he provides drug therapy monitoring and manages the practice’s clinical research studies. This unique practice setting affords an opportunity for student pharmacists to see first hand the benefits of collaborative practice.
Dr. Jerkins precepts students on advanced pharmacy practice experiences in endocrinology and clinical research studies. In the classroom he coordinates an endocrinology elective, provides pharmacotherapy lectures, and serves as a small group leader in Applied Christian Values in Pharmacy.
Dr. Jerkins and his wife, Terri Jerkins, have been married for 37 years; together they have five children (Jeremy, Luke, Alex, Jessie and Jill) and live in Franklin, Tennessee.
Distinguished Young Pharmacist
Kim M. Jones, PharmD, BCPS, of Medina, Tennessee, was named TPA’s “Young Pharmacist of the Year.” Sponsored by Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Company, this award was established to encourage newer pharmacists to participate in Association and community activities and to annually recognize one such professional who takes initiative, shows leadership and has a unique talent for patient care.
Dr. Jones is the Assistant Dean of Student Services & Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Union University School of Pharmacy in Jackson, Tennessee. She received her BS degree from Middle Tennessee State University and her PharmD degree from the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy. Dr. Jones completed a pharmacy practice residency at Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans, Louisiana. Prior to joining the Union University School of Pharmacy, she worked as a clinical pharmacist and Residency Director/Coordinator at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee.
She is actively involved in her community and profession and holds current memberships in numerous organizations, including the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP), American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), American Pharmacists Association (APhA), and West Tennessee Pharmacists Association, in addition to TPA. In 2009, she received the Newell Innovative Teaching Award at Union University, in 2009-2010 she was named the Union University School of Pharmacy Faculty Member of the Year, and in 2014 received the Tennessee Pharmacists Association Young Pharmacist of the Year Award.
Dr. Jones participates in various local community outreach efforts through student organizations; served as a faculty leader for a Medical Missions Trip to Hattieville, Belize in 2011; is a member of the Jackson-Madison County Anti-Drug Coalition; and is a member and Sunday School Teacher at Antioch Baptist Church in Humboldt, Tennessee. She and her husband, Jud Jones, also a pharmacist, live in Medina, Tennessee.
Cardinal Health Generation Rx Champions Award
Sarah Melton, PharmD, of Johnson City, Tennessee, received the “Cardinal Health Generation Rx Champions Award.” This award honors a pharmacist who has demonstrated outstanding commitment to raising awareness of the dangers of prescription drug abuse among the general public and among the pharmacy community. It is also intended to encourage educational prevention efforts aimed at patients, youth, and other members of the community.
Dr. Melton received her BS Pharm (1991) and PharmD (1994) degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University/Medical College of Virginia School of Pharmacy (VCU) and completed a Fellowship in Psychiatric Pharmacy at VCU in 1996. She has been a board certified psychiatric pharmacist (Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties) since 1997 and a board certified ambulatory care pharmacist since 2011. Dr. Melton became a Certified Geriatric Pharmacist in 2005 and is a Fellow of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists.
In 2012, Dr. Melton joined the East Tennessee State University (ETSU) Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy and soon after began serving as the Generation Rx Program faculty advisor at the college. Under her leadership, the program has been recognized nationally by the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) in 2013 and 2014 as the second-place chapter in the nation for its successful community outreach. Additionally, under Dr. Melton’s leadership, the Generation Rx Program at ETSU has accomplished Student Engagement, Outreach to Children and Adolescents, Outreach to College Students, Physician Outreach, Legislative Advocacy, the development of an ETSU Generation Rx program website, and the development of a Provider Toolkit at ETSU, which was an important step in educating healthcare professionals about how to prevent prescription drug abuse in patients. The Generation Rx Committee took the program into the community to practicing healthcare professionals, as well as to students at the Quillen College of Medicine.
Bowl of Hygeia Community Service Award
Robert E. “Bob” Shutt, DPh, of Savannah Tennessee, has been awarded the “Bowl of Hygeia Community Service Award.” Now in its 56th year of operation, this award is sponsored by the American Pharmacists Association Foundation and the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations, with support from Boehringer Ingelheim. It is presented annually to honor pharmacists with outstanding records of civic involvement in their communities and is recognized as North American Pharmacy’s most prestigious state level award.
Dr. Shutt has dedicated the last 40 years to both the profession of pharmacy and his community, as a pharmacist and as an independent pharmacy owner. He has served as Mayor of Savannah, Tennessee, since 1999. After graduating from the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy in 1974, he worked as a staff pharmacist for Medco Drugs before becoming an independent community pharmacy owner of Super Drugs Pharmacy in Savannah, Tennessee, in 1980. Dr. Shutt retired from community pharmacy in 2012, after being in business for 32 years. He served as a Hardin County Commissioner before being elected to the Savannah City Commission in 1997 and then elected as Mayor in 1999. In 1997, he was named Hardin County “Man of the Year,” an award given to individuals who have made significant contributions to the Hardin County Community.
Dr. Shutt and his wife, Janie Shutt, live in Savannah, Tennessee.
Herman Lubin Sales Representative of the Year
Charlie P. Walker, of Powell, Tennessee, was named “Herman Lubin Sales Representative of the Year,” an award honoring outstanding service to pharmacists and the profession of pharmacy. Presented first in 1975, this award is named for the late Herman Lubin, a Memphis pharmacist and Past-President of the Tennessee Pharmacists Association.
Walker is a Senior Sales Representative with Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and has been with the company since 2004. He received his Bachelors degree in Biology from Carson-Newman University in 2001 and achieved his Masters in Biomechanics at the University of Tennessee. He serves health care providers in clinics, pharmacies, and hospitals throughout the Knoxville area. Walker values pharmacists and their interactions as critical to the health of our community. He is a resource for pharmacists throughout the area and offers services that help them provide top-quality patient care.
He and his wife, Christina, live in Powell, Tennessee, with their four children (Lyric, Malachi, Maya, and Solomon) and attend The Church at Knoxville.
Barbara McAndrew Herald Award
Debra Wilson, DPh, of Jonesborough, Tennessee, was presented the “Barbara McAndrew Herald Award.” Instituted in 2006, this award recognizes an individual who has actively promoted the profession of pharmacy and the ideals of pharmaceutical care to the public, to the business community, to government, and to other health care providers.
Dr. Wilson graduated with honors from the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy in 1975 and is a 2001 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School Executive Management Program for Pharmacy Leaders. For the last 26 years she has worked in a very diverse health organization reaching all areas of pharmacy; community, hospital, long-term care, infusion, compounding, consulting, disease management and wellness. Dr. Wilson currently serves as President of three pharmacy service organizations, Clinical Management Concepts, Inc., ProCompounding Pharmacy, and Pharmacy Network Services, Inc.
Dr. Wilson is involved with several pharmacy organizations in addition to TPA including National Community Pharmacists Association, Senior Care Pharmacy Alliance, and National Home Infusion Association and is actively involved in legislative advocacy. She has served on the CareSpark Board, the Dispensary of Hope of Johnson City Advisory Board, the East Tennessee State University (ETSU) Foundation, the Johnson City Chamber of Commerce. She was actively involved in the founding of Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy at ETSU and remains a volunteer faculty member at the College.
Dr. Wilson and her husband, Guy Wilson, also a pharmacist, live in Jonesborough, Tennessee.
