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After more than half a century of service to Crenshaw County, Foster’s Drugs pharmacist Clemont Carpenter has been inducted into the Alabama Pharmacy Association (APA) Hall of Fame.

Carpenter received the honor during the 137^th Annual Convention of the Alabama Pharmacy Association, according to a press release by the organization. APA executive director Louise Jones praised Carpenter for not only his work behind the counter, but also in the community.

“There is no doubt about Clemont’s dedication to serving others,” she said. “His many years of service to his community and numerous leadership positions have had a great impact on our profession. APA is happy to recognize his work through his induction into the Hall of Fame.”

Carpenter was born in 1930 and spent his early years in Coffee County. He graduated from Brantley High School, spent a couple of years in the U.S. Air Force and married his “high school sweetheart,” Jean Foster, a marriage that led to his interest in working in a pharmacy.

Jean’s father, who was a pharmacist, encouraged Carpenter to pursue the vocation.

Carpenter then attended Alabama Polytechnic Institute and received a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy. He graduated in 1954.

Carpenter worked first at Prattville Drug in 1955 and, after a year there, bought a pharmacy in Luverne where he continues to serve to this day. A picture of his first year at Prattville Drug hangs in Foster’s Drugs currently, directly above a photo taken 50 years later of Foster and his pharmacist son.

Three of his sons followed Carpenter into pharmaceutical practice, while one received a medical degree from UAB. He is now in his 64^th year of practice. Altogether, Carpenter’s family has spent a century in the pharmaceutical practice and running drug stores, a tradition he is proud to have helped keep alive.

“Everything has changed, but I love it and I still do,” he said of his 64 years in the pharmaceutical profession. “That’s why I’ve done it all these years.”

Carpenter was elected to the Luverne City Council in 1964, and also served as mayor for 12 years. He also spent 30 years as a member of the Luverne Rotary Club and spent a term as president, according to the APA press release.

Carpenter has also served as a Cub Scout Master and on the school board, the executive committee for the Alabama League of Municipalities, board of directors for the Southeast Alabama Gas District, chairman of the board of directors for Luverne Bank & Trust and as a member and officer of the Luverne United Methodist Church.

Carpenter also spent years serving on the APA board, according to the press release issued by the group, and in 1986, was appointed by then-governor George Wallace to serve a five-year term on the Alabama State Board of Pharmacy. He served for a year as the president of the state board.

Carpenter also established the Crenshaw County Pharmaceutical Association, where he served in nearly every office over the years.

The APA recognized Foster’s Drug Co. in 2016 for “more than 100 years of dedicated service to the community and Carpenter for 60 years of hard work and loyal service to his patients and community, exemplifying the highest ideals of the pharmacy profession.”