Thompson celebrates decade in field

      Jon Thompson says that if he were not a pharmacist, he would be a farmer. Growing up on a farm outside of Muscatine, he says that he still enjoys going back on weekends to work the fields.

      On April 14, he will become the new owner of Bean's Pharmacy. Having worked in the pharmacy field for 10 years, he says as he prepares to take the center seat that it has been a challenge to learn the "back room" aspects of the business. After graduating from Muscatine High, he attended pharmacy school at the University of Iowa. After graduation in 1998, he worked for a year at Mercy Hospital and the for the Hy-Vee Pharmacy in Iowa City.

He and his wife Sara have a 4-year-old son, Nathaniel.

How did you end up coming to Washington?

      I got the call from Scott (Lumberg) that he was interested in slowing down a bit. I told him that I would be more than happy to come down and work by his side and take some of the weight off of his shoulders. One thing led to another and January is when I started.

Is the story true that when he bought this business, he told you that he would sell to you in 10 years?

      That is exactly what happened. I remember in the Mercy Hospital basement him having worries about making the change - going from a steady job to going to something on his own. He grew confident and signed the papers and said 'I bet in 10 years I will sell to you.' A side note is that he collects antique motorcycles. My dad had a 1969 Yamaha that I used to ride to pharmacy school. Scott collects old Yamaha motorcycles. He said 10 years ago, 'I am going to buy that off of your dad.' He bought it in July. What we say is what we do.

Did you have any anxiety about going out on your own?

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      I know Scott and Tori (Lumberg) are by my side. If they said I was on my own, there is no way I could do this. With the leadership of Scott and Tori I feel pretty confident. That being said, Hy-Vee took care of a lot of this business that I don't know how to do - you know, the back room stuff like accounting. I am going to have to learn the whole pharmacy business pretty quickly.

How did you get involved in pharmacy?

      I was always interested in the sciences. I came out of school thinking about physical therapy. I had a cousin that was in pharmacy school who said, 'Hey, try pharmacy.' I put my application in and that is where it went. Without him saying something, I don't know if I would be sitting here.