By Madeline Otten
Correspondent
The Good Neighbor Jefferson Pharmacy, located in Palmyra’s Food Lion shopping plaza, opened in March 2009. Ten years later, the pharmacy plans to celebrate, and is inviting the community to join the fun.
Jefferson Pharmacy will celebrate its 10thanniversary Saturday, March 9 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be free food, hotdogs, chips, cake and drinks, face painting, a free children’s vitamin program, special giveaways every hour, gift and home décor sales, and a free raffle to win a $250 store gift certificate. The first 25 people will receive a free t-shirt.
Good Neighbor pharmacies are locally owned pharmacies that offer products, prices competitive with chain stores, and personalized customer service to the local community.
Before the pharmacy opened, owner and manager Tracey Williams worked at the Good Neighbor Pharmacy located in Fork Union. Then in 2009, she was offered the position of manager of the new Jefferson Pharmacy. She does the bookkeeping and manages taxes, payroll and the staff. One of Williams’ favorite activities that comes with her position as manager is interacting with the staff and customers.
After being manager for two years, Williams was offered a partnership in 2011 and become one of the owners of the pharmacy. The pharmacy has three other owners: Ron Davis and Jonnie and Kelly Oliver. Davis is responsible for starting the pharmacy and is one of the pharmacists. He can be found in the pharmacy on Tuesday afternoons and Wednesday mornings. He is also a mentor to Williams. Jonnie Oliver joined the team almost six years ago and is the front-end manager. Kelly Oliver is also one of the pharmacists who has been with the pharmacy for over five years.
“We are a neighborhood pharmacy that excels in customer service and we want to take care of our patients,” said Williams.
Over the past 10 years, the store saw steady growth within the business as well as in its customers. The store began with 10 employees and now has 15. One of the pharmacy’s biggest goals was to focus on customer service, treating patients, and taking care of them. It shows. On Google, the Jefferson Pharmacy has a five-star rating from local customers admiring the staff for their work.
In the future, those running the pharmacy hope to collaborate more with physicians. Their goals pertain to clinical services that help patients, staying involved with physicians, and becoming part of a healthcare team.
“Our goal is to take care of customers and patients. This could be finding the right products to live healthier lives, the right medication, medical equipment such as walkers, rollers, compression stockings, and more,” said Kelly Oliver. “Every day is different when it comes to helping our customers.”
