Tim Mitchell reflects on family, pharmacy school, service
If Neosho, Mo., were to pick a favorite son, Tim Mitchell would certainly be in the running. His community is served by not one but four of Mitchell’s pharmacy facilities: Family Pharmacy of Neosho; Country Care Pharmacy; Advantage Health Care; and Mitchell’s Downtown Drug Store.
Mitchell was selected by the UMKC Alumni Association and the campus as the 2015 School of Pharmacy Alumni Achievement Award recipient. He is among the 17 UMKC alumni to be recognized at the annual Alumni Awards luncheon on Thursday, April 23.
Born and raised in Neosho, Mitchell says his family set a high bar. At his grandfather’s sawmills, he saw time and again what made his grandfather successful.
“I learned a valuable work ethic from my grandfather,” Mitchell said. “He took care of people the way he wanted to be taken care of, and he didn’t cheat anyone.
“Patients still come in and say, ‘I knew your grandpa. I want to do business with you because of the family you have.’ I want people to feel the same way about me.”
Mitchell planned to go into the medical field, but earned a degree in biology and chemistry instead. He taught school for two years.
“At that point, I knew I wanted to care for people on another level.”
After much prayer and deliberation, Mitchell’s wife sent out her teaching resume.
“She got a job in the Raymore-Peculiar district within a week,” Mitchell said. “I had been to UMKC for interviews and was really impressed, so her job settled it.”
Two faculty members made a big impression on Mitchell – Robert Piepho, former dean of the School of Pharmacy, and Shelly Janasz, director of Student Support Services. Mitchell says he admired Piepho’s positive attitude, and Janasz helped Mitchell when he felt a little unsure.
By graduation, the Mitchells had two young children and were drawn back home to Neosho.
The move also positioned Mitchell to step up when disaster struck. In 2011, he was one of the first pharmacy responders on-site after a category EF5 tornado devastated the city of Joplin, Mo.
“I got in the car and thought ‘What am I doing? I don’t have any experience.’ I was scared to death. I went to the pharmacy, grabbed some first aid supplies and headed up there.
“Along the way, I called a couple of pharmacist friends of mine who had been in disaster situations like Hurricane Katrina. I knew they could help.
“They came down that evening and we drew up a plan. Before I knew it, we had an army of pharmacists, technicians, physicians, a makeshift clinic and a dispensary.
“We started out with no plan, but sometimes things just work out. I had good friends who came and we took care of people. That made me really proud.”
Mitchell has established two annual scholarships through the UMKC Pharmacy Foundation: the Timothy G. Mitchell Scholarship for a student interested in community pharmacy, and the Tim Mitchell Medical Scholarship for a student member of the National Community Pharmacists Association. He is in the process of setting up a third scholarship for the Pharmacy School’s third location in Springfield, Mo.
“I can help someone in the same place I was 20 years ago,” Mitchell said. “A married man with a child, trying to go to school and building up loan debt. Scholarships helped get me through.”
Mitchell’s family continues to be a source of pride.
“I have a family that loves me, wants to live a Christian life and gives back to our community. We are not perfect, but I think we do a lot of good for our town.”