Doug
balog healthsmart pharmacy
F
or Doug Balog, owner of HealthSmart Pharmacy in Mooresville, choosing a profession came easily to him—and early in life. At 16, Doug knew pharmaceuticals would be his calling. Growing up in the small steel mill community of Follansbee, West Virginia, Doug often heard his father advising him to pursue a profession—pressing the fact that the steel mills were not going to provide a livelihood. Since Doug excelled in math and science, he began considering the medical field. “I grew up about a half mile from a community pharmacy,” Doug explains. “After spending an afternoon with the pharmacist there, I realized that’s what I wanted to do. It suited my bend toward science, and I could truly help others. Setting my career in motion, I headed for college and never looked back.” However, owning a family pharmacy in a world of Walmarts and Walgreens was not always an easy pill to swallow. After only four years in business, Doug learned that the state would cite eminent domain—and would demolish Doug’s building—in its decision to widen Brawley School Road. Doug spent time and expense to relocate his pharmacy further down the Brawley Peninsula and again, later, at its current location on Williamson Road. “It’s been a long journey,” Doug sighs appreciatively, “but we are blessed and grateful to serve the good people of Lake Norman.” Doug remembers a man once came into the pharmacy and asked him about a problem he was having with his foot. Concerned, Doug sat with the man and learned more about the situation, and he advised the man to see a wound specialist. “Even though this was years ago,” Doug recalls, “this man recently returned to the store to thank me. He said he did see a specialist and, because of my advice, he was treated accordingly and avoided amputation. He said that had I not taken the time and care to consult with him, he would have surely lost his foot!”
a g e : 43 H o u s e h o l d : Wife Lorrie; sons Garrett (12), Colton (8), & Maddox (6), cat Ginger, & black Lab Pearl LKN t o w n : Mooresville
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24 LKN
| march 2015
True to his altruistic nature, Doug provides the medicine for host families of Solace for the Children, an organization that provides medical care for children from war-torn countries. Also, Doug coaches youth baseball and is a Cub Scout Cubmaster. When he speaks of his work and his family, Doug smiles proudly, never underestimating the significance of either. “My father has probably been the most inspiring person in my life,” he says. “He raised me with a relentless passion and tenacity and excellence—from helping me obtain Eagle Scout as a boy to owning my own business today; he always taught me to be compassionate and that any small act of kindness can make a huge impact.”