SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Recognized for his nearly five decades of service to pharmacy and the chain drug store industry, former Kerr Drug president and chief executive officer Tony Civello received the Sheldon W. Fantle Lifetime Achievement Award during the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Annual Meeting.

The award was established by NACDS in 1989 to recognize exceptional accomplishments and contributions to the industry. Chain pharmacy’s highest honor, the award was renamed in 1996 in honor of Bud Fantle of People’s Drug Stores.

As a student at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Pharmacy in 1965, Civello worked in a part-time position with Thrift Drug and rose through the ranks to become a senior executive during the next 30 years. Civello took the helm at Kerr Drug in 1996 and ran one of the most innovative chains in the country.

Civello has been a highly engaged member of NACDS: He joined the NACDS board in 1998 and served as its chairman from 2005 to 2007. He also served on the NACDS Foundation board from 2003 to 2013.

“It is truly fitting that Tony receive chain pharmacy’s highest honor. ‘Bud’ Fantle was a mentor to Tony in his early days of pharmacy, showing him the ropes in an industry that even then was evolving and changing rapidly,” said NACDS president and CEO Steve Anderson.