President's Message

By Rusty Pendley, D.Ph.

March, 2007

Who, me?

I thought I was retired from pharmacy organization leadership positions—after all, I felt that I had done my duty by serving consecutively as a board member or an officer in local, state or regional office for the past twenty-five years. I did my time at the Texas Capital and in Washington D.C. struggling with pharmacy issues. I have spent thousands of dollars of my own money for pharmacy issues and supporting pharmacy organizations. I have even experienced many sleepless nights worrying about the finances of our pharmacy organizations. As an association officer, I sometimes made my colleagues angry at me for decisions that I was forced to make. I even spent an anniversary at a pharmacy convention—ouch! So when I was asked to serve as AASHP President, how could I turn it down!

What I wrote above is all true, but is not the entire story. While there are many reasons not to serve, the rewards are much greater. First of all, my family attended most trips with me and became very involved. The friendships they made will last forever. My daughter was actually excited to attend and looked forward to seeing her new friends. While I was standing next to the United States Speaker of the House on the balcony of his office, my family was at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. While I was in a CE meeting, my wife was touring local wineries with the pharmacy women's group. The list goes on and on. Also, our friends made sure that my wife and I had a beautiful suite, a wonderful dinner and plenty of flowers for our anniversary.

I first became involved (unknown to me) when a fellow pharmacist sent my name into a pharmacy organization that was asking for volunteers to serve on a committee. After the first meeting, I began to feel that maybe I can make a difference. Now when I look back, I can definitely see that an individual can make a difference in his/her profession.

If you are reading this president's message, you have taken the first step. I encourage you to become involved. Don't be shy or think that you can't do it. After all, I came from a small town of 350 people and still articulate with my West Texas slang, but I was able to easily communicate with some of the most powerful people in the United States about our wonderful profession. You can too.

—Rusty Pendley, D. Ph.
AASHP President