Alachua County Pharmacist Named Pharmacist of the Year

PONTE VEDRA ‒ The Florida Pharmacy Association has announced that Alachua, Florida pharmacist William Garst has been named Pharmacist of the Year.  This award is named after James Hartley Beal, who was a pharmacist from Ohio and was the first recipient of the prestigious Remington Medal for Distinguished Service to American Pharmacy. James Beal was president of the American Pharmacist Association and eventually made Okaloosa County, Florida his home.

The award is also named after former FPA Executive Vice President James B. Powers in honor of his many years of service to the profession of pharmacy in Florida.

Garst is currently working as a part time pharmacist for the UF Health Psychiatric Hospital, Lake Butler Hospital and Best Drugs of Trenton.  Since his retirement from the VA he has authored columns in “The Pharmacy Newsletter” for a local newspaper, Alachua County Today, and has published several articles in “Florida Pharmacy Today,” a monthly publication of the Florida Pharmacy Association.

He has served as the Vice-Chair for the Health Care Advisory Board for the Alachua County Commission and is a volunteer pharmacist for Grace Pharmacy serving the homeless population of Alachua County.  He is also active with the Alachua County Association of Pharmacists and the Florida Pharmacy Association.

He received his Doctor of Pharmacy, University of Colorado, Denver, CO and a Masters of Pharmacy Administration, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. He is also a recipient of the Masters of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida.

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