President and Chief Executive Officer of Tulsa based May's Drug Stores, Gerald Heller is the innovative leader of a 39 store chain founded by his late father and uncle. Born in St. Louis and raised in Joplin, MO, Mr. Heller received his B.S. degree in pharmacy from The University of Oklahoma in 1959.

In August 1960, he joined the May's firm and started a division to lease drug departments in large discount stores. Mr. Heller eventually purchased May's with his father, Isadore, and become president in 1971. At that time, May's operated four units. Today, Mr. Heller operates the largest family owned pharmacy chain in Oklahoma, consisting of 39 stores, plus a distribution facility in Tulsa. Mr. Heller serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and has served twice as Chairman of the organization. He is a past Chairman of Affiliated Drug Stores, now called Chain Drug Merchandising Association, a pharmacy-buying group. He is a Director of F&M Bank and Trust Company in Tulsa, serves as a Director and former Chairman of the American Red Cross Southwest Region Blood Services, and is Chairman of The University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy National Advisory Board. He also serves on the Foundation Board of Temple Israel in Tulsa on the Board of Friends of the Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

Mr. Heller has been the recipient of many honors, including the Ralph D. Bienfang Outstanding Practitioner Award awarded by the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy and the "Regents Alumni Award" from The University of Oklahoma. He was by Chain Drug Review as Retailer of the Year" and received the prestigious "Torch of Learning" award from the American Friends of Hebrew University for his outstanding service to the Chain Drug Industry. The Heller Chair in Pharmaceutical Chemistry has been established at Hebrew University in Israel by the Chain Drug Industry in his honor. In 1997, he was honored with a dinner in Hew York given by UJA-New York for his charitable involvement within the Chain Drug Industry. The Chain drug review has presented him with the Ron L. Zeigler Lifetime Achievement Award for his service to the Chain Drug Industry.

Mr. Heller and his wife, Sherry, have three children: Gregg, a buyer for May's; Tracey, a sales representative with G.D. Searle Division of Monsanto: and Devin, who is employed by May's working in real estate and computer areas. He also has two grandchildren.

About the lecture

"Pharmacy Into The 21st Century - Using Lessons From The Past"

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"In his lecture, Mr. Heller will talk about his life as a child growing up and working with his father and uncle in their pharmacy. He will refer to lessons learned in business as it relates to pharmacy practice and how these lessons may help young pharmacists as they practice pharmacy in the 21st century."