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The Leadership Awards highlight individuals and organizations at the forefront of pharmacy regulation, showing us all what it means to be a leader in public health protection. Nominations are now closed for the 2026 NABP Leadership Awards. The Leadership Award recipients will be announced in April 2026, and the awards will be presented during the 122^nd NABP Annual Meeting. Nominations for the 2027 NABP Leadership Awards will open in July 2026. Nomination criteria and descriptions of each award can be found below. View this year’s NABP Leadership Award Recipients.

Award Criteria

Lester E. Hosto Distinguished Service Award

This award is the highest honor bestowed by the Association. To be considered, nominees must meet the following criteria: 

• exemplary effort to protect the public health, and 
• strong commitment to furthering the goals and objectives of NABP. 

Any individual who meets the criteria may be nominated for the Lester E. Hosto Distinguished Service Award, regardless of their member affiliation with NABP.

Originally known as the Distinguished Service Award, it was renamed by NABP to serve as a memorial to the 1990-1991 NABP President Lester E. Hosto, whose motivating presence in the practice of pharmacy was recognized by practitioners of his state, pharmacy leaders across the nation, and former United States President Bill Clinton.

Carmen A. Catizone Honorary President Award

To be considered for the distinction of honorary president, nominees must meet the following criteria:

• service on at least one NABP committee or task force;
• participation in NABP/American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy District Meetings and NABP Annual Meetings;
• exemplary services for, or on behalf of, NABP;
• strong commitment to NABP, the mission of the Association to protect the public health, and the practice of pharmacy; and
• affiliation (either current or past) as a board member or as an administrative officer of an active or associate member board.

To submit a nomination for honorary president, you must be from an active or associate member board.

The award was renamed in 2020 to honor former NABP Executive Director/Secretary Carmen A. Catizone, who served the Association for 35 years. The award honors Catizone’s unwavering leadership, commitment, and dedication to NABP and its mission of protecting the public health.

Fred T. Mahaffey Award

This award is reserved for member boards of pharmacy. To be considered, the board of pharmacy must meet the following criteria:

• made substantial contributions to the regulation of the practice of pharmacy over the past year;
• contributed to protecting the public health and welfare through the enforcement of state and federal laws and regulations;
• contributed to the advancement of NABP goals and objectives as specified in the Association’s Constitution and Bylaws; and
• be an active or associate member board of pharmacy.

This award was named after the late NABP Executive Director Emeritus Fred T. Mahaffey, who held the executive director position from 1962 to 1987. His leadership and contributions to NABP, state boards of pharmacy, and the protection of the public health were significant and established NABP as one of the leading pharmacy organizations. 

John F. Atkinson Service Award

The NABP John F. Atkinson Service Award is awarded in recognition of exemplary service in protecting the public health and should encompass work in the area of pharmacy law, inspections, and compliance. To be considered, nominees must meet the following criteria:

• provided NABP with exemplary service in protecting the public health, and
• made exceptional accomplishments related to pharmacy law and compliance.  

This award was named in honor of the late John F. Atkinson, former NABP general counsel, who served the Association for more than 40 years.