KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) Foundation recognized two Arkansas pharmacy leaders for their outstanding contributions to pharmacy education and community practice during the 2026 NCPA Annual Convention, held Oct. 3-6 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Megan Smith, associate professor and director of the PGY1 Community-Based Residency Program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), was named the 2026 Outstanding Faculty Liaison of the Year, while Blake Torres, co-owner and managing partner of West Side Pharmacy and Compounding in Benton, Arkansas, received the 2026 National Preceptor of the Year Award. Both honors were selected through a blind review process designed to ensure fairness and impartiality.
Smith was recognized for her leadership in advancing independent pharmacy practice, mentoring student pharmacists, and strengthening the UAMS NCPA Student Chapter. A graduate of the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy, she completed a PGY1 Community Pharmacy Residency and a post-doctoral fellowship focused on practice-based research and education in community pharmacy.
At UAMS, Smith directs one of the nation's largest community-based pharmacy residency programs, helping prepare pharmacists to provide advanced patient care services, including point-of-care testing and chronic disease management. She also continues to practice at The Pharmacy at Wellington, an independent pharmacy in Little Rock, maintaining a direct connection to patient care.
Smith has played a key role in pharmacy practice transformation efforts through her work with the Arkansas Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Network (CPESN), where she serves as academic network facilitator. Her efforts have helped expand point-of-care testing services and strengthen the connection between pharmacy education and real-world practice. Her previous honors include the 2022 NCPA Foundation Preceptor of the Year Award, the 2023 Arkansas Excellence in Innovation Award, and the inaugural 2025 CPESN Academia Leader of the Year Award.
Torres was recognized for his commitment to experiential pharmacy education and his efforts to provide pharmacy students with meaningful, hands-on learning opportunities. A 2014 graduate of the UAMS College of Pharmacy, Torres leads West Side Pharmacy and Compounding, an independent pharmacy known for expanding clinical services and improving patient access to care.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Torres launched testing services and later established Arkansas' first independent monoclonal antibody infusion site. Pharmacy students rotating through his practice gain firsthand experience in disease state management, medication therapy management, compounding, patient counseling, insurance reconciliation, long-term care services, and pharmacy advocacy.
According to nominator Seth Heldenbrand, PharmD, associate dean for experiential education and professor of pharmacy practice at UAMS, every student completing an APPE rotation at West Side Pharmacy over the past two years awarded Torres perfect scores across all evaluated metrics.
Beyond his pharmacy operations, Torres remains active in state health policy and advocacy, regularly promoting pharmacy benefit manager reform and serving on the Arkansas State Board of Health through a gubernatorial appointment that extends through December 2029.
Under Torres' leadership, West Side Pharmacy recently expanded with a second location in Benton, adding advanced sterile compounding, long-term care pharmacy services, traditional retail pharmacy operations, and enhanced clinical offerings to better serve patients across the region.
Together, Smith and Torres exemplify the impact of Arkansas pharmacists on education, patient care, and the future of independent pharmacy. Through their roles as educator, mentor, practitioner, and advocate, both continue to shape the next generation of pharmacists while advancing the profession at the state and national levels.
