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Directly Speaking
The Cubs World Series Ring and Other Bling!

by Scott A. Meyers, Executive Vice President

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The ring is huge and has 108 diamonds representing the years since the last World Series Championship plus 3.0 carats of Burmese rubies and 2.5 carats of genuine sapphires. It is certainly bling to behold. If you’re envious, go to www.jostens.com/cubsfan, and you can order a fan ring for yourself starting at $119 and going as high as $10,800 for the Limited Edition “108” Fan Ring! 

Okay, I’m a proud Cubs fan, and I have really enjoyed how the Cubs’ organization has celebrated this long awaited championship! So sue me. But the celebration has caused me to reflect that this spring, ICHP has been celebrating some milestones and handing out some much more modest bling to a few special people of our own. Each year, ICHP provides $500 scholarships and a handsome but relatively inexpensive plaque to a P-3 student at each of our state-based colleges of pharmacy. Actually Rosalind Franklin selects their recipient in the fall, but all the other colleges select and present the awards right about now.

This year has been no exception, with awards presented to the following individuals:

Chicago State University                                   Florence Gaza

Midwestern University                                      Shaziya Barkat

Roosevelt University                                        Fiona Costel

Rosalind Franklin University (Fall 2017)                To be determined

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville               Jamal Sims

University of Illinois at Chicago                          Daniel Haywood

Congratulations to these deserving students as they receive not only the scholarship but begin their own personal collection of pharmacy career bling! 

As many of you know and probably more of you don’t, ICHP presents other awards every year to some of Illinois and North America’s finest pharmacy professionals. At the fall ICHP Annual Meeting, we spend most of an hour and a half presenting a variety awards including ICHP’s highest honor, the Pharmacist of the Year! Here’s a list of all the awards we could present this coming fall:

      The ICHP Pharmacist of the Year

      The Amy Lodolce Mentorship Award

      The ICHP President’s Award

      The Outstanding Volunteer Award

      The New Practitioner Leadership Award

      The ICHP Industry Award

      The Health-System Pharmacy Technician of the Year Award

      The Student Chapter Award

      The ICHP Best Practice Award

      The Rising Star Awards

In other words, it’s no wonder it takes most of the 90-minutes we set aside. And on some occasions we award Honorary Membership to individuals who have made significant and sustained contributions to Illinois Pharmacy! If you would like to learn more about any of the award criteria for any of these awards or how to nominate someone, you can find all the details on our website at www.ichpnet.org/members/award_winners/ . In fact, there are a couple other articles in this issue calling for nominations for some of these important awards.

I know not everyone seeks formal recognition for their contributions and successes, but many of you do or will. It’s nice to be able to remind yourself of an accomplishment or two now and then, especially when you’re facing a new challenge and you need some inspiration. If you have an office at work, these awards make great reminders and professional looking decorations. If you don’t have an office at work, they could look nice in your den or spare bedroom. Whether you display them or not, it’s a great feeling to be recognized by your peers for professional accomplishments.

Perhaps the best story I heard about compiling awards came from Past President Harland Lee, now retired but at one time he was Pharmacy Director at Evanston Hospital, now Northshore University HealthSystem. Harland, you see, was very successful in his career and garnered a variety of awards and professional bling, including ICHP’s Pharmacist of the Year in 1972! (Harland, I was in college at least then!) When he retired and brought home all his bling, his wife made it quite clear that there was no place for it on the walls of their family room, living room or den. Certainly not the bedrooms either. So Harland, being a fan of Public TV and enjoying a particular British sitcom about a Department Store called “Are You Being Served?” remembered that one of the goals of the entire store staff was to be promoted high enough in the organization in order to receive a key to the “Executive Washroom” – a place of honor that was certainly nicer and cleaner than what the entire staff used. Harland politely asked his wife if she minded him hanging his pharmacy bling in the basement washroom, and when she agreed, he quickly claimed it as his own “Executive Washroom”! Much funnier when Harland tells it, but a great way to continue the celebration long after the accomplishments are complete.

So if you’re looking to collect pharmacy bling, whether you want to show it off or just so that you know you’re making a difference, this year’s round has begun and there will be much more to be had in the fall. Go online and look at those Cubs rings and then set your sights on some ICHP and Pharmacy bling of your own!

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