COLUMBUS, Ohio (Oct. 27, 2024) – Matt Garner, of Garner Family Pharmacy in Jonesboro, Ark., was named the recipient of the 2024 National Preceptor of the Year Award by the National Community Pharmacists Association Foundation as part of NCPA’s Annual Convention, being held Oct. 26-29 in Columbus, Ohio. This award recognizes a pharmacist who has made a significant contribution to the education of pharmacy students as a preceptor in a community practice setting.
Garner graduated from pharmacy school at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences in 2018. During that time, he was the fifth member of the winning team of the 2017 Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition. He started practicing at Cornerstone Pharmacy in North Little Rock and Conway, Ark., after graduation, and he began precepting students in 2019. He became a third-generation pharmacy owner in 2021 when he returned to his hometown of Jonesboro and opened Garner Family Pharmacy. In 2022, Garner began hosting IPPE and APPE students at the pharmacy.
While Garner aims for each student to be exposed to every aspect of community pharmacy and business ownership and feel confident in areas like data entry, he is known for assessing and meeting the interests of each student, with their assignments, activities and practices tailored to their unique goals. He is also highly involved with the NCPA Foundation-UAMS Pharmacy Ownership and Leadership Academy. He volunteers his time and mentorship to students of the academy and serves as a mentor for them beyond it as they continue their journey toward pharmacy ownership. His students admired his preceptorship so much that the UAMS College of Pharmacy Class of 2023 elected him Preceptor of the Year.
In addition to being an NCPA member, Garner is also a member of the Arkansas Pharmacists Association and the Arkansas Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Network. He lives in Jonesboro with his wife of 10 years, Rebekah, and their two children, Eleanor and Jack.
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The NCPA Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization established in 1953 to honor the previous incarnation of NCPA, the National Association of Retail Druggists (NARD) Executive Secretary John W. Dargavel. Contributions to the foundation are tax-deductible as charitable donations to the extent permitted under federal tax law. The NCPA Foundation improves community-based health care access by supporting efforts that promote the sustainability and growth of independent community pharmacists, the most accessible health care provider, through scholarships, grants, and ownership development. For more information, go to www.ncpafoundation.org.
