ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Seven community pharmacies have been named recipients of the 2020 NICE Awards, sponsored by QS/1, the National Community Pharmacists Association announced today. This is the third year of the NICE Awards competition, which was created to recognize pharmacies for their efforts to enhance their value, promote their services, and better serve their communities.

“Since 2018 the NICE Awards have showcased the best in community pharmacy branding and marketing – the innovations and redesigns that make promotions more effective and patients’ experiences more rewarding,” says NCPA Innovation Center president Kurt Proctor. “Marketing is the lifeblood of a community pharmacy. The aim of the NICE Awards is to spotlight what good pharmacy marketing looks like – and what it accomplishes for a pharmacy business. As we congratulate this year’s NICE Awards recipients, we encourage others to see and learn and achieve success as a result of these examples.”

“QS/1 is proud to sponsor the 2020 NICE Awards because we understand the power and necessity of branding and marketing,” says Sheila Warfield, vice president of marketing at QS/1. “To compete, community pharmacists must leverage their brands to create awareness and increase relevance while remaining accessible to patients and customers.”

The 2020 NICE Awards recipients by category are:

• Best Internal Remodel – Mac’s Pharmacy in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

• Best Customer Convenience Improvement – Keeseville Pharmacy in Keeseville, N.Y.

• Best Marketing/Promotion – Louis Morgan #4 Pharmacy, Gifts and More in Longview, Texas

• Best Delivery Vehicle – Family Pharmacy in Aiken, S.C.

• Best In-Store Display – Jasper Drug Store in Jasper, Ga.

• Best External Remodel – Cheek and Scott Pharmacy in Lake City, Fla.

• Best Exterior Sign – Elmore Pharmacy in Red Bluff, Calif.

More than 70 submissions were received. Three independent judges – Bruce Kneeland, Dave Wendland, and Becky Schiller – reviewed the entries and selected the winners. Kneeland is a semi-retired industry consultant. After a long career in the pharmacy supply chain, he now interviews successful community pharmacy owners and managers all across the country, sharing what he learns in live continuing education programs and in several pharmacy journals. Wendland has more than 25 years of experience in the packaged goods industry and is vice president of strategic relations and a co-owner of Hamacher Resource Group. Schiller is a second-generation pharmacy owner who owns Economy Pharmacy with her husband. Her background in design helped with a remodel of the primary store, which earned a special Overhaul of the Year NICE Award in 2019.