Mike is the President and founder of Hometown Family of Stores.  He opened the first location in Chillicothe in 2002.  While not a pharmacist by training, he’s an entrepreneur and businessman and former CPA.  After graduating from his hometown Pittsburg State University, he began his career in Kansas City working for Arthur Anderson, but decided in the mid-80s he wanted to pursue running his own business which is what brought his family to Chillicothe.  A 30+ year resident of the area, he is passionate about the values a small community instills and the ability to provide excellent service to our customers.  Mike has recently been able to enjoy retirement and keeps busy traveling and enjoying his grandchildren’s activities. 

Ted started his professional career in the corporate world as a business to business sales executive and sales manager, but felt a desire to be an entrepreneur.  Ted joined the Hometown Family in 2018, eventually gaining an ownership stake in 2019.  Ted is originally from Galesburg, IL and graduated from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Business Administration (Finance) while also starring as a pitcher for the Vikings baseball team.  Ted is married to Mike’s daughter Brooke and they are the parents to 3 children and enjoy spending their time traveling, visiting friends, and anything sports related.  His favorite thing about owning the pharmacy is the opportunity to lead a great group of people towards a goal of becoming the most trusted, knowledgeable, and accessible healthcare provider in our communities. 

Chris is the Director of Operations for Hometown Family of Stores.  She oversees all aspects of management in our four locations.  Chris started her career with Hometown in 2014.  She came to us with over 20 years of pharmacy and durable medical equipment experience.  Chris lives in Carrollton with her husband Darrin, who is a Real Estate Investor.  She has one son and bonus daughter, Kaleb and Bryanna Newham, who live in rural Norborne.  They are both business owners.  Kaleb owns a custom welding business, and Bryanna owns a clothing boutique.  In her free time Chris enjoys traveling with her husband, winter vacations to the Riviera Maya are a top priority! She also loves shopping and working on their 30-acre property.

Brenda is our RN & Diabetic Educator for all 3 locations.  She was born and raised in Novinger, MO and currently lived on a family farm west of Chillicothe.  Brenda graduated from nursing school as an RN from North Central Missouri College in Trenton, MO.  She has worked in a variety of specialties in her career including Med-Surg, Surgery, GI & Specialty Clinic.  She earned her certification as a Certified Diabetes Care & Education Specialist & has been teaching classes since 2002.  We are lucky to have her on our staff starting in 2022!  Brenda and her husband, Steve are parents to 3 daughters.  Some of her hobbies are sign making, small wood projects, etching, baking, reading, antique shopping & jig saw puzzles. She thoroughly enjoys accompanying patients on their diabetes journey, providing them with empowering knowledge to self-manage their condition and live a healthy life!

Our store manager in Chillicothe, Amber, is one of our “Hometown” employees who grew up in this community.  She graduated with a Doctorate of Pharmacy from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and has been with us as the manager of the Chillicothe store since 2017.  She and her husband, Jacob have 2 daughters & the family enjoys raising and showing bucket calves and chickens, riding their ranger, playing at the river, gardening, hunting, and fishing.  Amber loves to travel, so when she is not serving our community at work, she enjoys visiting the Bahamas, Cancun, and Colorado. 

Our store manager in Carrollton, Gay Lynn, grew up in Liberty, MO and now lives in Norborne.  She attended Drury College & the University of Missouri, Columbia, earning a BA degree in Interdisciplinary Studies followed by a pharmacy degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.  She joined the Hometown team in 2011 and was promoted to store manager in 2017.  Gay Lynn and her husband, Rob are parents to 2 children and have one grandchild.  Gay Lynn’s passions include international missions, Haiti, in particular, international travel, time with family, microbrewery tours and visiting wineries. Her focus, as it relates to pharmacy, is patient care. She strives to take the best care possible of our patients, getting to know them, their extended family, and eventually, their caregivers.  Her very favorite thing is when a customer asks her opinion for something over the counter. She recommends it and they come back in later saying how well it worked.

Valery joined the Hometown team in 2017 as the manager of our Healthy Living Store.  She brings a wealth of knowledge stemming from over 30 years of experience selling Durable Medical Equipment which makes her the perfect fit as manager of the Healthy Living Store.  In her free time she enjoys attending Kansas City Chiefs games with her family and friends in their custom tailgating van. 

Greg is from Trenton, MO and  works as a staff pharmacist in several of our locations.  He graduated with a pharmacy degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and came onboard with Hometown in 2015.  His experience and knowledge are unmatched given that he owned and operated his own pharmacy for 24 years prior to Hometown.  Greg is married with 3 children & 6 grandchildren and in his free time he enjoys RV camping, hunting, fishing and cutting wood in his timber.

Another of our “Hometown” Pharmacists, Malissa works as a staff pharmacist at several of our locations.  Malissa graduated with her Doctorate of Pharmacy from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and soon after, returned to the area and joined our team in 2012.  Malissa and her husband are parents to 2 children and in their free time, they love to spend time traveling, having fun at the lake in the summers, and watching their son play soccer and daughter dance.  Malissa’s favorite thing about being a pharmacist is getting to educate patients on their health and medications.

Kerri is one of the staff pharmacists at our Carrollton store.  She is originally from Hamilton, MO and joined Hometown in the Carrollton store in 2017 after graduating from the University of Missouri-Kansas City pharmacy school.  She is married to Michael and they are parents to one daughter.  In their free time, they enjoy cooking, golfing, running, traveling, and spending time outdoors with family on their farm.  Kerri is a Board Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist and she enjoys being a part of delivering high quality health care to rural Missouri.

Andy is another of our “Hometown” pharmacists as he was born and raised in Marshall, MO.  He earned his pharmacy degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and began working at a retail pharmacy after graduation.  He retired from his full-time pharmacy position after 40 years in 2020 and we were lucky enough to add him in a part time capacity to our staff in 2022!  Andy is an immunization certified pharmacist.  Andy and his wife, Maureen, have 3 children and one grandchild.  Some of his favorite ways to spend his time in semi-retirement are barbequing, playing lots of golf, taking trips, going to dinner and a movie, and walking their dog, Izzy.  Andy also serves as the Vice President of the local Lion’s Club.