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.
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.
| Charles Young | Frederick G. Herbst | Robert C. Russell | Joseph R. Sabino, Jr. | Ernest Boyd | Bella Mehta |
| Abe Butnik | Glenn E. Hotaling | Joseph R. Sabino, Sr. | William Armbrecht | Christine Murphy | Andrew Roecker |
| L.W. Funk, Sr. | M. Eugene Schafer | Fred J. Cermak | Joel Adelman | Gary Rutherford | |
| Victor L. Keys | Nick Avellone | James F. Halloran | Walter Ritzman | Marialice Bennett | |
| Arthur P. Wyss | Rupert Salisbury | A. Milton Cohen | Paul Wherry | Martin Davis | |
| Harry Fraiberg | David E. Ott | Ed Briner | Metta Lou Henderson | Ken Hale | |
| Rudolph H. Raabe | Raymond Quillen | Irving S. Feuer | Ralph Foster | Randy Myers | |
| J. Frank Gallagher | Frank E. Kunkel | William J. Marks | Frank Wickham | Bill Sheridan | |
| William P. Murray | John F. Kirwin | Max A. Myers | Norman Billups | Tom Kier | |
| J. E. Cowden | John W. Mannino | Forrest Pack, Sr. | Wayne Miller | Kathy Karas | |
| Rudolph L. Puls | Eugene B. Imholt | Alva Rubenstein | Lori Woodson | Don Bennett | |
| Harry Baskind | Merrill J. Insley | Amy Bennett | Karen Kier | Dick Wuest | |
| Loyd E. Harris | LeRoy D. Beltz | Suzanne Eastman | Charles Broussard | Milap Nahata | |
| Gilbert H. Siegel | Ervin W. Pierstorf | Richard Marlin | Verne Mounts | Jen Rodis | |
| Lloyd M. Parks | Anne M. Feuer | Charles Brading | Bob Bryant | Stu Beatty |
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:
| George M. McCann | William J. Marks | Richard L. Lewis | Richard Yost | Marialice Bennett |
| William C. McKinley | H. Norman Dingeldein | Jerome M. Cohen | Joel Levitan | Debra Parker |
| Gilbert H. Siegel, Sr. | Raymond E. Walter | James Staker | Wayne Miller | Dan Karant |
| Merrill J. Insley | Bernard J. Kurlander | Daniel Waitzman | Leonard Holman | Nnodum Iheme |
| Carl F. Thornton | John A. Nees | James Dorsey | Bob Mabe | Troy Gahm |
| Richard H. Brading | James H. Thompson | Edwin Murphy | Jerry Marlowe | David Burke |
| Joseph P. Dworkin | J. Raymond Specker | Larry Schieber | Martin Davis | James Tallman |
| David E. Ott | George G. Murrah | Gregory Krieger | Jeff Allison | Laura Jo Miller |
| Donald House | Ronald Seigla | Alan K. Webster | Mark Dominik | Karen Kier |
| Charles R. Brading | Everett L. Daniels | William Derry | Mimi Hart | |
| John P. Cook | Frank V. Aruta | Paul Wherry | Ken Alexander | |
| Robert H. Waldorf | James P. Myers | David Purdy | Jim Liebetrau | |
| Ervin W. Pierstorf | Wendell Cohen | David Fettman | Danny Bentley |
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:
| Don Harrington | Troy Gahm | Jennifer Rodis | Kelly Kroustos |
| John B. Godar | Steve Burson | Sonya Sebastian | Brigid Groves |
| Steven Fettman | Doc Lamberjack | Jeffery Steckman | Emlah Tubuo |
| Gregory Fox | David M. Ford, Jr. | Stacy Walker | Kelli Barnes |
| Christine Ritzman | Marc Sweeney | Justin Friesner | Lauren Castle |
| Thomas Ohliger | Sara Bockhorn Huff | Kristen Sobota | Aimee O'Reilly |
| Michael Hoar | Kristen Lamberjack | Cathy Kuhn | Jangus Whitner |
| Wayne Cohen | Greg Braylock, Sr. | Tim Ulbrich | Cory Coffey |
| Eric Hals | Teresa Hoffmann | Chet Kaczor | T'Bony Jewell |
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.
| Randall Myers | Kevin Gahm | Allen Nichol | Aaron Clark |
| James DiCello | Brad Roseborough | Kevin Fuschetto | Sarah Adkins |
| Jeff & Sujata Potter | Kristin Casper | Mike Rush | Sue Paul |
| Danny Bentley | Anthony Buchta | Joe Dula | Alexa Valentino |
| Judy Ann Knapp | Tara Green | Stu Beatty | Dustin Carneal |
| Debra Parker | Mark Johannigman | Dave Hartzell | Jacquelyn Kissel |
| Max Peoples | Kristen Lamberjack | Doug Cornelius | Alison Cook |
| Michelle McDonough | Matthew Buderer | Erin Thompson |
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.
| E.W. Stepfield | Fred J. Cermak | Roger L’Hommedieu | J. Richard Wuest | Marc Sweeney |
| Chester A. Kaliski | Robert C. Russell | Forrest Pack, Sr. | Dominic Bartone | Harles Cone |
| Merrill J. Insley | Eugene B. Imholt | Harold Klawitter | Marc McQuaid | Jim Turner |
| C.S. Stonebraker | John W. Mannino | Helen Kuhn | Mike McKeown | Ralph Foster |
| W.O. Rowland | Glenn E. Hotaling | Suzanne Eastman | Richard Marlin | Mike Wascovich |
| Nick Avellone | Dale T. Cochran | Jack Statler | Robert Parsons | Steve Burson |
| James H. Merritt | Max A. Myers | Tom Allen | Kathy Karas | Karen Kier |
| William F. Potthoff | Jack Karlin | Hunter Russell | Paul Wherry | Dee Dee Myers |
| Joseph R. Sabino, Sr. | Ed Briner | Philip Rogers | Donald Bennett | Larry Schieber |
| Frederick G. Herbst | Rupert Salisbury | Kenneth Alexander | Bob DuPont, Sr. | Jennifer Rodis |
| M. Eugene Schafer | James F. Halloran | Phyllis Forrest | Debbie Lange | Antonio Ciaccia |
| James L. Marshall | Irving S. Feuer | Ernest Boyd | Amy Bennett | Kathy Nameth |
| Harold K. Emerson | Rinaldo A. Brusadin | Gary Rutherford | Curt Black | Marialice Bennett |
| Gilbert J. Rea | Henry E. Agin | Wayne Miller | Joseph Sabino, Jr. | Jeff Steckman |
| David E. Ott | LeRoy D. Beltz | C. Robert Blake | Andrea Wall | Aimee O'Reilly |
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.
| Larry Schieber | Troy Gahm | Micah Sobota | Lauren Spoltman |
| Jeff Polzin | Justin Friesner | Joe Jeffries | Ruth Emptage |
| Michael Milks | Nick Saltsman | Kelsey Schmuhl | Stacey Poling |
| Rose M. Allen | Charlie Broussard | Shelly Metzger |
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.
| Tom Whiston | Debbie Lange | Jon Sprague | Tonya Dauterman |
| Norm Dingeldein | Eric Graf | Tara Green | Doug Cornelius |
| Kathy Karas | David Burke | Mark Kratzer | E. Michael Murphy |
| C. Robert Blake | Kevin Mitchell | Eric Pachman | Maria Coyle |
| Deirdre Myers | John Coler | Randy Myers |
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.
| Eric Hals | Jarrett Bauder | Steve Burson | Natalie DiPietro Mager | Eric Geyer |
| Vickie Brink | Larry Galluzzo | Cynthia Solomon | Michelle Musser | Jennifer Wick |
| Norb Kinross | Dan Karant | John Stanovich | Jason Briscoe | |
| Chad Worz | Paul White | Amy Fanous | Karen Kier |
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:
| 2024 | Jason Bester | Marilee Clemons | Zachary Fettman | Mitchell Howard | Rebecca Lahrman | Brittany Long | E. Michael Murphy | Courtney Myers | Michael Pleiman | Ariel Williams |
| 2023 | Kunal Amin | Andrea Brookhart | Anna Gehres | Linda Gutierrez | Hope Hill | Ashley Johnson | Nira Kadakia | Nicholas Newman | Kelsey Schmuhl | Jennifer Wick |
| 2022 | Rachel Barhorst | Brenda Barnes | Lauren Castle | Lia Frost | Kevin Fuschetto | Andrea Kowalski | Aimee O'Reilly | Emily Vrontos | Jangus Whitner | Dana Wilkerson |
| 2021 | Kelli Barnes | Aleda Chen | Cory Coffey | Emily Eddy | Eric Geyer | Jennifer Sabatino | April Shaw | Trey Tietz | ||
| 2020 | Ben Aronson | Paul Casebolt | Justin Coby | Jennifer Emerson | Allison Haas | Cathy Kuhn | Bryce Lifer | Jason Martinez | Nick Saltsman | Logan Yoho |
| 2019 | Stu Beatty | Amy Fanous | Justin Friesner | Austin Hilverding | Jessica Hinson | Diana Issacs | Kelly Reilly Kroustos | Chelsey Smith | Jeffrey Strouble | Tim Ulbrich |
| 2018 | Brandon Craig | Kevin Day | Brigid Groves | Melody Hartzler | Michelle Musser | Lindsey Peters | Jen Rodis | Michael Rush | Ryan Schneider | Kristen Sobota |
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.
| 2024 | Leah Alsept, The Courier |
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| 2023 | Terri Sullivan, WSYX-ABC 6 |
Donny Sobnosky, WSYX-ABC 6 |
J Swygart, Lima News |
Shelby Reeves, Chillicothe Gazette | |
| 2022 | Joseph Gastaldo, MD, OhioHealth |
Gary Huggenberger Wilmington News Journal |
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| 2021 | Amanda Fay WTOL 11 Toldeo |
Mac Cordell Marysville Journal-Tribune |
Mary Kuhlman Ohio News Connection | Robert McGraw Chillicothe Gazette |
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| 2020 | Tim Feran The Columbus Dispatch |
Barrett Lawlis Lancaster Eagle Gazette |
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| 2019 |
Marty Schladen, The Columbus Dispatch | Lucas Sullivan, The Columbus Dispatch | Catherine Candisky, The Columbus Dispatch | Darrel Rowland, The Columbus Dispatch | Lauren Wilson, WEWS News 5 in Cleveland |
| 2018 | Monica Robins, WKYC 3 in Cleveland | Joel Riley, 610-WTVN radio in Columbus | Katie Wedell, the Dayton Daily News | Sara Arthurs, The Courier in Findlay-Hancock County | |
| 2017 | Glenn McEntrye, WBNS 10TV Columbus | Bill Adams, Senior Focus TV | Michael Cooper, Springfield News-Sun | ||
| 2016 | Dawn Kendrick, WKYC in Lorain County | Scott Wegener, WCPO in Cincinnati | Todd Dykes, WLWT in Cincinnati | Encarnita Pyle, The Columbus Dispatch | |
| 2015 | Jon Rudder, WTOV News 9 in Steubenville | Barrett Brunsman, Cincinnati Business Courier | Janet Podolak, The News Herald in Lake and Geauga Counties | ||
| 2014 | Danielle Cotterman, WFMJ NBC in Niles Ohio | Ted Hart, NBC 4 Columbus | Daryl Kirkland-Morgan, ABC 13 in Toledo | Mary Kuhlman, Public News Service | |
| 2013 | Loren Genson, Medina-Gazette Online | Gail Hogan, Daytime Columbus, NBC 4 | |||
| 2012 | Marcey Goulder, 10 TV in Columbus | Candice Lee, WCMH TV, NBC 4 | Rose Russell, The Toledo Blade | Cheryl Powell, Akron Beacon Journal | |
| 2011 | Brent Davis, WOSU Public Media | Ben Sutherly, Dayton Daily News | Diane Suchetka, The Cleveland Plain Dealer | Kathy Lynn Gray, The Columbus Dispatch | |
| 2010 | Gabrielle Enright, WHIO-TV Dayton | Fred Griffith, WKYC TV in Cleveland | Justin McClelland, Dayton Daily News | Suzanne Hoholik, The Columbus Dispatch |