CANTON – After 63 years as an independent and locally owned business, Dartmouth Pharmacy has closed and been sold to Medicine Center Pharmacy.

Pharmacists David Amato and Mark Coberly are retiring and opted to sell the Dartmouth Pharmacy business, at 2801 Tuscarawas St. W, to another independent pharmacy, as opposed to a large national chain. Customers will visit the Medicine Center Pharmacy a couple of blocks east at 2526 Tuscarawas St. W.

The move ensures that longtime Dartmouth Pharmacy customers will continue to receive personal service — such as free local delivery, point of care testing, vaccines and easy dose packaging — from a local, independent pharmacy.

"We're looking forward to caring for the Dartmouth family of customers the same way they've been cared for over the past 63 years," said Nancy Wharmby, president of Medicine Center Pharmacy.

More:Lone Medicine Center Pharmacy grows to four stores, specialty lab

Amato and Coberly began discussing retirement earlier this year. They notified customers after the sale had been arranged with Medicine Center. Amato spent the past two weeks visiting with customers.

"I have been so blessed for the last two weeks," Amato said of his visits with customers, some who have been with Dartmouth Pharmacy over three generations.

There have been plenty of smiles, hugs and handshakes, and even tears.

"God is looking down smiling and saying, 'There is a lot of good in mankind'," Amato said. "The good news is that the love and kindness will continue at the Medicine Center."

Victor Lombardi opened the pharmacy and took its name from the Dartmouth Medical Building at 214 Dartmouth Ave. SW. Lombardi soon was joined by fellow pharmacists Paul Scikora and John Amato, older brother to David Amato.

When he was a high school junior, David Amato began working in Dartmouth Pharmacy cleaning shelves and running deliveries to customers. He followed his older brother and earned a pharmacy degree from Ohio State University, then came home and worked with him.

In 2000, the store moved to the Tuscarawas Street W location from Dartmouth Medical Building, which had been incorporated into the Aultman Hospital campus.

The original Medicine Center Pharmacy opened in 1976 at the Tuscarawas Street W location. Since Paul White started the business, it has grown to four pharmacies, with additional stores in Louisville, Minerva and New Philadelphia. Brad White joined his father in the business and they added an accredited non-sterile compounding laboratory in 2006 and an institutional pharmacy in 2010.

Medicine Center has 75 employees and more than a dozen pharmacists. The company also operates a retail discount store, Half Off and Hot Buys, in Louisville.

Dartmouth Pharmacy and Medicine Center were close together and offered similar services, so the businesses will complement each other, Brad White said.

NEO Women Connect next week

The annual NEO Women Connect program and business expo is Tuesday in the Conference Center at Kent State University Stark Campus.

More:Panelists will cover a number of issues during the NEO Women Connect

The business expo begins at 9 a.m. and closes following a lunch and keynote address beginning at 1 p.m. The morning includes breakout sessions with panelists discussing change and empowerment.

The keynote address will be delivered by Bridget Weston, chief executive officer of the SCORE Association. She has been with SCORE for 10 years and helps guide the organization's staff, 300-plus chapters and more than 10,000 volunteers who help small business owners.

The cost of the program is $30 to attend and $50 for exhibitors. The fee includes continental breakfast and lunch. There is no charge for students. For more information, contact neo.womenconnect@gmail.com or call 330-451-6509.

ASM International honors Timken executive

Timken Co. executive Ryan Evans has been elected by the trustees of the ASM International as a "Fellow of the Society."

Evans has been with Timken for more than 20 years and leads the company's research and development supporting bearing product lines. He currently serves as president of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers.

The ASM International is an association of materials-centric engineers and scientists. Evans was elected as a fellow for his work to help reduce friction between interacting surfaces and make machines operate more efficiently.

Chicago group honors local resident

The Chicago Paint & Coatings Association presented it President's Award to Andrew "A.J." Crofford, a Jackson Township resident who is midwest sales manager for Van Horn, Metz & Co.

The association, which is celebrating 135 years, recognized Crofford for his working with the "Paint a Brighter Chicago" project where members volunteer to paint a Chicago school. Crofford modified the event to include children of members, allowing them to earn service hours and give back to the community.

Based in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, Van Horn, Metz & Co. provides specialty raw materials needed to produce coatings, and is a member of the Chicago Paint & Coatings Association.

Polish bank adding Diebold Nixdorf equipment

PKO Bank Polski will be installing DN Series self-service equipment from Diebold Nixdorf to upgrade its branch network, the companies announced.

The bank believes Diebold Nixdorf equipment can be used to develop branch concepts that combine local tradition with advanced technology designs. Diebold Nixdorf cash recycling equipment will enable customers to deposit and withdraw a large number of banknotes and complete a range of flexible transactions.

PKO Bank Polski is Poland's largest bank serving 11.5 million customers. The bank has corporate branches in Germany, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Reach Edd at 330-580-8484 or edd.pritchard@cantonrep.com On Twitter: @epritchardREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Local, independent Medicine Center Pharmacy adds Dartmouth Pharmacy