CYNTHIA GARCIA
When the Azle Area Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual awards banquet Feb. 19 at the Wild Wonder Event Center, Business of the Year was one of the most anticipated awards.
Shane Wall, owner of Northwest Physical Therapy and last year’s winner, presented this year’s Business of the Year award to Laura Temple, owner of Laura’s Pharmacy.
“The Business of the Year Award goes to a well-run business exemplifying the prosperity and success that can be achieved in Azle. This year’s recipient opened its doors in 2012 and has been a Main Street staple ever since,” Wall said.
“At a time when nearly 40% of independent pharmacies have had to close their doors, this one has managed to adapt and stay open even when insurance reimbursements are down, and the cost of prescription drugs continue to rise. They stay active,” Wall added.
Temple graduated from Azle High School in 1990. During her senior year, she would go to a local grocery store every week to ask for a job. Finally, one day the front-end manager told her, “Go to the pharmacy. I think they have an opening,” and the rest is history.
Temple started as a clerk, moved to technician, intern and then pharmacist. She earned a degree in Communications and Marketing from the University of North Texas and a pharmacy degree from the Southwestern Oklahoma State University College of Pharmacy.
Temple worked as the pharmacist in charge of Albertson’s in Lake Worth and Walmart in Decatur before she was offered a job back home at the Medicine Chest — a small independent pharmacy chain. After the small pharmacy sold to a retail chain, Temple made the decision to follow her own dreams and open her own pharmacy.
Temple feels honored to have won this year’s Business of the Year award.
“I grew up here and it’s always important to be a part of the community and I appreciate all of them (people in the community), as well,” Temple said.
The staff at Laura’s Pharmacy enjoys working with people, its customers and supporting the different organizations in the community.
“Without our customers and our community, we would just fade away,” Temple said.
