THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 14, 1996 TAG: 9607120169
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Business
SOURCE: BY LINDA McNATT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 89 lines
AT LAST WEEK'S annual meeting of the Isle of Wight/Smithfield/Windsor Chamber of Commerce, Ron Pack talked about a man he met on a snowbank during the great blizzard of 1980.
A newcomer to Smithfield at the time, Pack needed medication for his young son. Stores were closed; traffic wasn't moving. But Pack was lucky to find a pharmacist who cared enough to brave the blizzard.
``Aubrey Cahoon is a pharmacist above all else,'' Pack said, as he announced the recipient of the Chamber's ``Business of the Year'' award. ``He has been there in the middle of the night, on Sunday mornings. He listens to problems and complaints and strives to help others.''
Pack, who owns Smithfield Station Restaurant and Marina and is a former winner of the annual award, served on the selection committee this year. But until Pack actually said the name, Cahoon, who was sitting at the head table next to his wife - outgoing chamber president Delores Cahoon - had no idea who the speaker was talking about.
``No, I don't believe I even remember,'' the Pack incident, the owner of downtown Smithfield's Simpson's Pharmacy said later. ``You live in a small town, you do what you have to do.
``I occasionally go out in the middle of the night, yes. But I'm always glad when I do. When people are your friends, taking care of them is part of the routine.''
Routine, for Cahoon, has never been exactly routine, chamber director Connie Rhodes said.
``He has done so many wonderful things for the people of this community in such a quiet way,'' she said. ``He's never asked for or expected recognition. He's a community leader who has helped his fellow man in an unobtrusive way, quietly and without fanfare.''
Cahoon, 60, was born in Hyde County, N.C., and grew up in Portsmouth. While attending Cradock High School, he had a part-time job at an independent pharmacy in that small community. He graduated from Cradock High School and went on to the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond to get his degree as a pharmacist.
When he graduated in 1959, he went into the Coast Guard for two years. When he got out, he said, an acquaintance happened to mention that a drugstore in Smithfield was looking for a pharmacist.
Simpson's Pharmacy has been a full-service pharmacy in Smithfield since 1914. Cahoon started working there in 1961, and purchased the store around 1970.
``He and Delores were the first business on Main Street, Smithfield, to restore their facade for the downtown renovation,'' Rhodes said.
And Cahoon has served his community in other ways. He's a two-term past president of the Smithfield Ruritan Club, a former president of the Smithfield German Club. He, like his wife, served as president of the chamber and always has been one of the chamber's biggest supporters, Pack said in his introduction.
Cahoon was on the Smithfield Board of Zoning Appeals for 15 years and was chairman for seven of those years. He has been district president of the Virginia Pharmaceutical Association. He recently retired after 35 years with the Coast Guard Reserves.
Cahoon and his wife have worked hand-in-hand to make Simpson's the successful, smalltown pharmacy and intricate part of the community it is, Rhodes said. After a serious automobile accident several years ago, Delores Cahoon closed one downtown business to start a home healthcare business in her husband's pharmacy.
The Business of the Year Award was the highlight of the local chamber's annual meeting, held this year at the James River Country Club in Newport News.
The featured speaker was former Congressman Paul Trible, president of Christopher Newport University. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by Linda McNatt
``When people are your friends, taking care of them is part of the
routine,'' says Aubrey Cahoon, owner of Simpson's Pharmacy.
NEW OFFICERS
Robert C. Claud, president
Claud is a retired telephone company executive and is the first
Chamber president from Windsor. He is a former Windsor Town
Councilman and was mayor before being elected last year to the Isle
of Wight County Board of Supervisors. He represents the Windsor
District.
Immediate past president, Delores Cahoon
Vice president, Oliver D. Creekmore
Treasurer, Robert A. Sharpe II
Executive director, Constance H. Rhodes
Board of Directors: G. Thomas Alphin Jr., Randolph Barlow, N.F.
``Pete'' Carr Jr., Phillip L. Frix, Thomas E. Hearn Jr., Wilson E.
Holland, Troy C. Johnson, Branch P. Lawson, Alan V. Monette, William
H. Riddick III, Susan D. Stone by CNB