I grew up in the small town of Cherokee, OK in northwest Oklahoma. In 1980 I graduated from Cherokee High School there in Cherokee, OK. I completed the pre-pharmacy curriculum at Northwestern Oklahoma State University (NWOSU), in Alva, OK and in 1982 was accepted at Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU), College of Pharmacy, and graduated with honors with a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy in 1985.
In June 1985 I began my career in retail pharmacy as a graduate intern in Norman, OK. Once I became a licensed Doctor of Pharmacy in March 1986 transferred to a store in Oklahoma City, OK, and worked there until the intervention of my substance use disorder in June 1994.
After treatment for my substance use disorder was completed at Valley Hope in Cushing, OK, in August 1994 I joined Oklahoma Pharmacists Helping Pharmacists (OPHP) as an active grateful participant eager to learn about the newfound freedom in recovery.
Many years later and numerous positions/titles in OPHP I have now been the Executive Director since 2009, responsible for the day-to-day operation of OPHP under the OPHP Board of Director’s oversight.
After my treatment in 1994 for substance use disorder and my Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy hearing on September 29, 1994, I started doing relief pharmacy work across Oklahoma beginning in October 1994. I was blessed to start contract work as a relief pharmacist at the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Hospital in Oklahoma City, OK in the outpatient pharmacy in May of 1995. In April 1996 I accepted a full-time position at the VA Hospital in Oklahoma City, OK in the outpatient pharmacy department. I am still full time at the VA in addition to my work as full-time Executive Director for OPHP. I live in Newcastle, OK with my wife Tammi and cat Socks. Tammi and I have one son and one daughter and 8 grandchildren. We are members of Beth Haven Baptist Church, Oklahoma City, OK.