OPA Award Recipients

During the Ohio Pharmacists Association (OPA) Annual Conference and Trade Show, OPA recognizes pharmacy excellence throughout the state. Any OPA member may nominate any eligible member for the awards. Below are the award descriptions as well as lists of recipients for each award. The name of the recipient for this year is in bold font. The online award solicitation form(s) are available on the OPA website during the nomination periods.

The nomination period for the Online Award Solicitation Form is June through September.

The Media and Under 40 Awards Online Forms are available June through February. 

Beal Award 

In accordance with the wishes of the founder of the award, Dr. James Beal, the award honors any person who has given service beyond the call of duty and who has done the most for pharmacy during the year, or whose contributions to the advancement of pharmacy within the State of Ohio over a period of years, has been most outstanding. There are to be no public calls for nominations of the Beal Award.  This award was introduced in 1948.

Bowl of Hygeia Award

The Bowl of Hygeia Award, sponsored by NASPA and the APhA Foundation, honors pharmacists who have contributed to the progress of their communities. The award was introduced in 1963. Nominations are accepted July through September. Criteria includes:

• pharmacist licensed in the state of Ohio;
• recipient must be living;
• recipient must not be previous recipient of the award;
• recipient must not be currently serving, nor has he/she served within the immediate past two years as an officer of the Association in other than an ex officio capacity or its awards committee;
• recipient must have compiled an outstanding record of community service, which apart from his/her specific identification as a pharmacist, reflects well on the profession

Distinguished Young Pharmacist Award

The goal of the Pharmacists Mutual Young Pharmacist of the Year Award is to encourage pharmacists beginning practice to participate in association and community activities. The award was introduced in 1988. Nominations are accepted July through September. Criteria includes:

• entry degree in pharmacy received less than nine years ago;
• licensed to practice in the State of Ohio;
• member of OPA;
• participation in national pharmacy associations, professional programs, and/or community service.

Upsher-Smith Excellence in Innovation Award

This award recognizes a pharmacist who has demonstrated innovative pharmacy practice resulting in improved patient care, emphasizing the very important role that pharmacy has in providing patient counseling. OPA displays recipients’ names in the OPA office. Nominations are accepted July through September. The award was introduced in 1975.

Keys Award

The Executive Committee is responsible for the selection of the Keys Award recipient. The award may be given to any person who has made an outstanding service contribution to OPA. There is no public call for nominations of this award. The award was introduced in 1949.

Generation Rx Award

This award is presented to recognize a pharmacist who has demonstrated commitment to education and prevention efforts for prescription drug abuse and misuse in the community. Nominations are accepted July through September.

Good Government

This award recognizes a member of the Ohio Pharmacists Association who has made major contributions to the public through government and/or legislative service/education at the local, state or national level. This activity must have raised pharmacists’ awareness of legislative issues impacting the profession, and impacting the passage of favorable legislation for pharmacy. Nominations are accepted July through September. The award was introduced in 2003.

Pharmacist Public Relations Award

This award recognizes a member pharmacist of the Ohio Pharmacists Association who has made major contributions to the public through continuous service to the community in public relations activities for the profession of pharmacy. This may be accomplished through television, radio, newsprint or community presentations on careers in pharmacy, poison prevention, medication safety, etc. Nominations are accepted July through September. The award was introduced in 2005.

Under 40 Award

The UNDER 40 Award Recognition Program grants young pharmacists the unique opportunity to have their professional achievements highlighted, and allows them to join the ranks of top-notch professionals from a variety of careers who have earned an UNDER 40 award. The award was introduced in 2018. Click on the Under 40 Award headline linked above to view the full story of the honorees. Under 40 nominations are accepted July until February. Criteria includes: 

• Under 40 years of age 
• An OPA member
• A licensed pharmacist

Media Award

Awards are presented to persons in the media promoting medication safety or pharmacy issues to the public. Media award nominations are accepted July through February.