Bowl of Hygeia Award - Alaska, 2003 - Sarah Altland, Pharmacist

Pharmacist Sarah Altland received the prestigious Bowl of Hygeia Award on March 1, 2003, at the meeting of the Alaska Pharmaceutical Association's Annual Convention, held in Anchorage. The award was given to Sarah for her service to the community, in addition to her work at Whale Tail. Stop by the store and see it!

The following article was used in the presentation of the Award, the highlight of the annual banquet.

“BOWL OF HYGEIA”

CONCEPT

A desire to encourage pharmacists to take active roles in the affairs of their respective communities prompted the A.H. Robins Company to establish the award in 1958. It is now presented annually by participating pharmaceutical associations in each of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the ten provinces of Canada. The recipients are selected by their respective associations.

DERIVATION

The “Bowl of Hygeia” symbol derives from Greek mythology and is the most widely recognized international symbol of pharmacy. Hygeia was the daughter and assistant of Aesculapius (sometimes spelled Asklepios), the God of Medicine and Healing. Her classical symbol was a bowl containing a medicinal potion with the serpent of Wisdom (or guardianship) partaking it. This is the same serpent of Wisdom, which appears on the caduceus, the staff of Aesculapius, which is the symbol of medicine.

THE AWARD

The “Bowl of Hygeia Award” is a handsome mahogany plaque measuring 10 by 13 inches and featuring the Bowl of Hygeia cast in bronze. It is modeled after a sterling silver Bowl of Hygeia made by a Mexican silversmith and given to the A.H. Robins Company by its Latin American representatives in 1953.

SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS

Each recipient of the award is selected by the pharmaceutical association in his or her state (and in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico on the same basis). The identity of the recipient generally is not disclosed until the actual presentation, which, in most cases, is made during the annual convention of the association.

FIRST PRESENTATION

The Bowl of Hygeia Award was presented for the first time on February 18, 1958 during the Iowa Pharmaceutical Association’s annual convention in Des Moines. The recipient was Richard M. Hofmann of Ottumwa.

SUBSEQUENT PRESENTATIONS

In addition to Iowa, the states of Louisiana, Oregon, and Rhode Island also presented the Bowl of Hygeia Award in 1958. The following year - 1959 - associations in 27 other states and in the District of Columbia made their initial presentations of the award.

This award has been presented annually in each of the United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico since 1967 when the New Jersey Pharmaceutical Association came into the program and made its first presentation.

The Bowl of Hygeia Award program was expanded to include Canada when the Pharmaceutical Association of the Province of British Columbia presented the award to the late George T. Cunningham of Vancouver in 1961. The award has been presented annually in each of the 10 Canadian provinces since 1967, when Prince Edward Island made its first presentation.

THE RECIPIENTS

Those chosen by their peers to receive the Bowl of Hygeia Award have ranged from young men and women in the early stages of their careers to long-time practitioners who have reached the top of the profession. Perhaps a quarter of the over 2000 recipients thus far have headed their respective state or provincial pharmaceutical associations at one time or another. Many recipients of the award have served as president of either the National Community Pharmacists Association or the American Pharmaceutical Association.

FAMILY AFFAIRS

On a number of occasions, the Bowl of Hygeia Award has been presented first to one, then another member of the same family. More than a dozen times the award has been presented to a father and then, in a later year, to his son or daughter. Once the honor was first bestowed on the son, then the father. Brothers, or a brother and sister, have been honored in separate years on at least four occasions. And there have been a number of instances in which both husband and wife have been honored, in different years.

WOMEN RECIPIENTS

The late Gladys McConnell of Cedar City, Utah, was the first woman to receive the award, having been honored by the Utah Pharmaceutical Association in 1959. Since then, many other women have become recipients of the Award.

SCOPE OF COMMUNITY SERVICE

In addition to service through their local, state, and national pharmaceutical associations, recipients of the Bowl of Hygeia Award have devoted their time, talent, and resources to a wide variety of interests. Some have represented their respective communities in state legislatures or in statewide office.

Many have served as mayor or as a member of their community’s governing body. Still others have filled important positions on planning and zoning commissions and hospital, school, and other boards. They have provided leadership for fund drives and countless special projects, and have participated in the work of youth organizations, civic clubs, churches, and fraternal clubs. It is safe to say that over the years Bowl of Hygeia Award recipients have been honored for virtually every type of community service.

HEADQUARTER’S VISIT

Each fall since 1963, Bowl of Hygeia Award winners for the current year have been invited to be guests of the company for a special salute in its headquarters’ city which is highlighted by a gala reception and dinner customarily attended by the presidents of the American Pharmaceutical Association, the Canadian Pharmaceutical Association, the National Association of Retail Druggists, and the National Council of State Pharmaceutical Association Executives.

In conjunction with these special salutes, Wyeth-Ayerst and Whitehall-Robins sponsor a full-page magazine advertisement that features photographs of each of the award winners and indicates that they have been cited for outstanding service to their respective communities. Initially published in TIME Magazine, the ad for 1976 and in subsequent years appeared in the journals of the American Pharmaceutical Association, the National Community Pharmacists Association and the Canadian Pharmaceutical Journal in an effort to provide greater recognition for the award winners among their peers.

LAPEL PIN

So that they may be recognized wherever they go, Bowl of Hygeia Award winners also are presented lapel pins, which are scale replicas of the mahogany award plaque.

These pins were introduced at the suggestion of Robert G. Gibbs, Executive Director of the Iowa Pharmaceutical Association, and were first presented in 1964. A special distribution was made at that time to all who had received the award in prior years. The pins are presented only to recipients.