Thank you, Bob! Enjoy your retirement…

I directly owned pharmacies for 35 years by the time Neighbourly Pharmacy bought the Sandstone group in 2021. In that whole time, I never owned a pharmacy by myself. I always had business partners. The number of owners in our group changed over the years, depending on people's age and stage in life.

At the end of June, one of my original partners, who also happens to be a pharmacy classmate, Robert (Bob) Wilson, retired and I am so grateful to him for the trust and loyalty that he showed me over the decades.

I could not have achieved what I have in my pharmacy career without Bob being there doing what he has done so well throughout the years. Early in our partnership we decided that Bob would take on responsibilities for everything inside the four walls of the pharmacy, and I would be responsible for developing relationships in the communities surrounding the pharmacy. As the number of pharmacies grew, I continued to support Bob’s decisions and in turn, Bob allowed me the time to develop my skillset, which include leadership, pharmacy advocacy, a better-than-average understanding of legal agreements and a mostly accurate gut feel for assessing risk vs. benefit.

I’m proud to say that I don’t recall even one time where Bob and I exchanged heated words. While I wish him the best in his next chapter of life, I’ll sure miss knowing he’s back there taking care of staff and patients with his cheery demeanor.

Thanks for everything you did, Bob, and for allowing me to be a part of your tremendous pharmacy career. Your retirement allows me the chance to share once again one of the goofiest photos the Alberta College of Pharmacy ever published as part of their Annual Report. This is from 2003.