Sunday, April 14, 2002 – Story by Paul Dellinger

Copyright (c) 2002, Roanoke Times

Transition Smooth as Floyd Pharmacy Gets New Owner
Clinger Family Sold Business

The new owner of the Floyd Pharmacy says he hopes to make it a lifetime enterprise, just as the previous owners have done.George Fetko is in his second week of living in Floyd, although he decided after visiting here that this is where he wants to spend his future.

The ownership transfer became official April 1. The pharmacy is the only one in Floyd County. He bought the pharmacy from Richard and Christine "Sue" Clinger, who have run it for 30 years and filled some 500,000 prescriptions. "It got so difficult to find a pharmacist to work for us," said Richard Clinger. The last one who helped him commuted from Virginia Beach two days a week, and that was not enough to ease the workload much.

The Clingers are from Oil City, Pa. "We grew up together," Sue Clinger said. Richard Clinger had been working nights at People's Drug while attending the University of Maryland, and the chain offered him a job in Roanoke when he graduated. Then the couple decided to open their own pharmacy and, when the one in Floyd became available, they bought it. It had already been in existence for about 20 years. Later they opened a Subway next to it, and another in Riner. Richard Clinger still has interests in those along with one of their sons. He plans to continue his hobby of woodworking, and Sue Clinger plans to pursue art.

Bundy & Co. of Roanoke handled the transaction for the Clingers. "One of the challenges we faced in finding a buyer had to do with the shortage of registered pharmacists," Bill Bundy said. "The buyer pool was narrowed down to individual pharmacists wishing to purchase a business, or regional chains or national chains looking to purchase another store." The search eventually led to Fetko who, at the time, was working for a pharmacy in Pikeville, Ky. Because his work also took him across the border into Virginia, he secured a pharmacy license in both states.

Originally from Chicago, Fetko graduated from the St. Louis School of Pharmacy in 1999 and was recruited by the Rite Aid Pharmacy Corp. "I decided I didn't want to work for a chain for the rest of my life," he said, and the Floyd Pharmacy proved to be just what he was looking for. "This is a long-term deal," he said.

Fetko is making improvements on the building, redoing the roof and doing some remodeling. In a way, though, the pharmacy is still part of the Clinger family. Cara Barber, the Clingers' daughter, is continuing to work there. She started working there in 1976 at the store's fountain, and eventually worked her way up to handling the register. She went to Radford University, where she earned an degree in accounting, although she continued to help out on Saturdays "so I never really left." After working for about 10 years in Roanoke, she returned to her parents' pharmacy. "It got to the point where they could use me full time," she said. She handled the accounting, worked the front end of the store and did other jobs. "I'm staying on. George seems like a nice guy and I like my job," she said.

Paul Dellinger can be reached at (276) 228-4752 or paulde@roanoke.com.

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