April 15, 2014
Third-year student Emily Dare Peedin and alumnus Henry Smith and his wife, Tracey Smith, are the winners of the 2014 Samuel Burrus Award for Community Service given by the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
The awards were announced at the School’s annual Awards Ceremony on Sunday, April 13, at the Rizzo Center. The School thanks Rite Aid (silver sponsor) and Kroger (bronze sponsor) for their support of the event.
This award is presented to members of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy family who exhibit outstanding and unselfish civic, community, or church volunteer service provided outside the scope of regular pharmacy practice. One award is presented to a student currently enrolled in the School. The second is awarded to an alumnus of the School or to a husband-and-wife team, at least one of whom is an alumnus.
The Smiths could not attend the Awards Ceremony and will received their award at the School’s Foundation Dinner September 18.
Emily Peeden
“Emily Peedin is an accomplished student within our PharmD program, earning high academic marks and also excelling outside of the classroom,” said Bob Blouin, PharmD, dean of the School. “Her distinction and accomplishment as a student extends well beyond the school and includes many examples of dedicated service and outreach.”
Peedin volunteered at the Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry Free Health Clinic as well as the Student Health Action Coalition Free Health Clinic. She was also intimately involved with the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service Free Clinic as pharmacy co-coordinator. Through her involvement with Taking Action by Service, Peedin volunteered at the UNC blood drive, the Ronald McDonald House, Carolina Tiger Rescue, UNC Hospitals’ pediatric playroom and the Wynwood Retirement Community. She was also a weekly volunteer at Summit Church as a nursery worker and with the Girls on the Run program where she coached young girls on the importance of self respect, good character, and healthy living.
As a student, Peedin completed the Veteran Affairs Learning Opportunity Program at the Durham Veteran Affairs Medical Center in 2012. She has also been extensively involved in School-based student organizations such as Christian Pharmacists Fellowship International (as vice president), the Carolina Association of Pharmacy Students, the Pre-Pharmacy Club (as president), and the Triangle College of Clinical Pharmacy Student Chapter. Peedin was also inducted into the Phi Lambda Sigma Pharmacy Leadership Society and the Rho Chi Pharmacy Honor Society as recognition of her leadership ability and academic achievement. She was also the recipient of the Howard and Mescal Ferguson Scholarship and the T. Bryant Mangum Scholarship.
After graduation, Emily go on to a PGYI pharmacy practice residency at Richard L. Roudebush Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Indianapolis.
The Smiths
Henry L. Smith is the founder and chairman of Carolina Medical Products in Farmville, North Carolina, and has been a pioneer in the development of FDA-approved oral suspensions and topical products. He received a chemistry degree from Campbell University in 1967 and a bachelor of science in pharmacy from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1972.
Tracey Smith is a registered nurse and previously worked at UNC Hospitals. She has been an active participant in the growth and success of Carolina Medical Products. Since moving from Chapel Hill to Farmville, she has dedicated much of her career to the growth of the company and serving the local community.
Henry Smith was named Farmville Citizen of the Year in 1993 and is a past member of the Pitt County Economic Board. He is a former faculty member of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and a former director, officer, and chair of the Pharmacy Foundation of North Carolina, Inc. He also served as a preceptor to fourth-year pharmacy students at both UNC-Chapel Hill and at Campbell University. He has served on numerous boards and associations including the Campbell School of Pharmacy Board of Visitors, the Campbell Board of Trustees, the Durham-Orange Pharmaceutical Association, the Farmville Boys and Girls Club board of directors and chaired the Farmville Chamber of Commerce. He received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Campbell in 1991 and was awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the UNC Pharmacy Alumni Association in 2005. He currently serves on UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Visitors.
The Smiths are strong supporters of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. An endowed fund in their name currently awards scholarships to two pharmD students, and they have also endowed a professorship at the School.
“The Smiths are strong supporters of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, and tt is very clear to me that Henry and Tracey personify the true meaning and intent of the Burrus Award for their service both to the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and to the larger community,” Blouin said.
Samuel Burrus
Samuel Burrus, a native of Mooresboro in Cleveland County, worked in, owned, or co-owned drugstores in Asheville, Canton, Sylva, Bryson City, and Fontana Lake, North Carolina. His children and grandchildren created the award in memory of his generous and caring nature and in honor of the impact he made on the communities in which he practiced.
Two of Burrus’s three children and three of his ten grandchildren earned pharmacy degrees at UNC-Chapel Hill. His oldest daughter, Blanche Burrus Clark, is a 1941 pharmacy graduate and lives in Chapel Hill.
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