NACDS closes with lifetime achievement awards
PALM BEACH, Fla. — The NACDS Annual Meeting concluded with the board of directors dinner and the annual presentation of the industry’s lifetime achievement awards.
Renamed the Sheldon W. Fantle Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996 in honor of People’s Drug Stores’ Bud Fantle, the award was originally established in 1989 to recognize exceptional accomplishments and contributions to the industry.
Receiving the award this year were Bob Loeffler, former CEO of H-E-B and past NACDS chairman, and Chain Drug Review editor David Pinto.
“Our honoree exemplifies that hard work, dedication and leadership can make a real difference within a company. From his upbringing in a small town to assuming the president’s position in his company, tonight’s recipient worked diligently to develop a career and life of significance,” noted Bob Narveson, chairman of the board of NACDS and president and president and CEO of Thrifty White Pharmacy, who presented the award to Loeffler. “[He is] also recognized one’s obligation to serve the community and is active in various civic and charitable endeavors. He is a man dedicated to action, his family and making a difference for others. He is detail oriented and has a keen financial eye. He is a tough competitor and was responsible for his company operating some of the best run stores in our industry.”
Tony Civello, president and CEO of Kerr Drug, Inc. and a past chairman of NACDS, noted, “He uses words, rolls-up his sleeves and even swings an elbow now and again,” in his presentation to CDR’s Pinto.
During the event, NACDS also paid tribute to Sam Skaggs, American Stores. Skaggs, the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, died in March.
Four past recipients of the Fantle Award attended the ceremony Tuesday evening, including Jack Futterman, Supermarkets General (1997), Jerry Heller, May’s Drug Stores (2003), Robert Kwait, Kwait & Associates (2005) and Morry Weiss, American Greetings (2006). Nancy Ziegler, wife of the late Ron Ziegler, NACDS president and CEO from 1988 to 1999, also was in attendance.