By Donna Thornton/News Editor
When unexpected snow-fall shut down most of Etowah County in late January, Debbie Adams made her way to Super Bee Discount Pharmacy in Rainbow City by 11 a.m. on Jan. 29, to be there in case any of the pharmacy’s customers had an emergency need for medicine.
“If I hadn’t, I’d have been sitting at home worrying that someone needed their medicine,” Adams said at the time.
There are some important traditions at Super Bee: the tradition of the finest in customer service, and the tradition of having a member of founder H.M. Hutcheson’s family behind the drug counter.
H.M. Hutcheson opened Super Bee Discount Pharmacy in 1971, and two generations of pharmacists in the family have followed in his footsteps, serving their friends and neighbors with personalized customer service and care that goes beyond the regular business requirements.
Hutcheson’s granddaughter, Abby Lynn Adams, is the most recent member of the family to join her grandfather and her mother at Super Bee in Rainbow City. She came to work at Super Bee last year after completed her state boards.
In addition to Abby’s mom Debbie, the middle generation in this family of pharmacists includes Debbie’s sister Kim Davis, and included their brother, the late Mike Hutcheson.
Debbie Adams said she and her siblings, and later her daughter, worked in the pharmacy when they were teenagers.
“We decided we liked it and would follow in my father’s footsteps,” Debbie said.
Debbie has been pleased with what her daughter has brought to the business.
“She’s brought some fresh new ideas,” Debbie said, to complement the constant updating she and her father do to stay informed on current medical practices and medication updates.
But some things won’t ever change at Super Bee. “We want to continue the tradition of friendly, personalized customer service,” she said.
Debbie said the business has been fortunate in stability with their staff as well. “One of our technicians has been with us about 35 years,” she said.
All the pharmacists at Super Bee, Debbie said, are committed to working with health care professionals and customers to help those customers achieve and maintain the best health possible.