About Us
Center Drugs was started by pharmacist Sid Pridgen and his wife Jeani on November 22, 1971. The original store was located in the downtown shopping center in Cairo, GA. The store was later moved to its current location on 2nd Ave.SE. The Pridgens sold their store to Drew and Shanda Pyrz on May 31, 2008. Center Drugs continues to offer a full-service pharmacy, gift store and soda fountain at the same downtown location.
Drew Pyrz, Pharmacist, RPh
Drew and his wife Shanda are the owners of Center Drugs. He is a 1993 graduate of the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy. His is a certified pharmacist immunizer which enables him to vaccinate for flu, pneumonia, shingles, and several other diseases. He completed training in 2009 to become a compounding pharmacist and Center Drugs to become a compounding pharmacy.
Drew is a Cairo native and is happy to serve the community in which he grew up. Drew is excited the opportunites pharmacy has given him to serve those around him, and is constantly trying to keep up with the latest health care developments. Feel free to contact Drew with any of your pharmaceutical needs or concerns.
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Shanda Pyrz, Pharmacist, RPh
Shanda and Drew have been the owners of Center Drugs since 2008. Shanda is a 1993 graduate of the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy. She is a certified immunizer and helps Drew do flu clinics on location at several of the local businesses.
Shanda and Drew have two sons, a daughter in law and a new grandbaby on the way! They all enjoy hunting and fishing when they are not cheering on the Dawgs!
Shanda enjoys Cairo and her customers and is eager to help with any of your pharmaceutical needs.
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Connie Butler, Pharmacist, RPh
Connie is a 1989 graduate of the University of Georiga College of Pharmacy and started working for Center Drugs that same year.
Connie has a been a vital part of the pharmacy team at Center Drugs for the past 35 years. In this time she has become an expert on medications, diseases states, dosing and side effects. She is a certified pharmacist immunizer which enables her to vaccinate for flu, pneumonia, shingles etc.. She is also very knowledgeable on all of the current pharmacy insurance plans.
Connie and her husband, Walt live in Whigham and have 2 children and 3 grandchildren. They are very involved in their church and all also enjoy camping and water sports.
Connie is always more than happy to discuss any of your pharmacy questions or concerns!
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Sid Pridgen, Pharmacist, RPh (Retired)
Sid is the original owner of Center Drugs which he founded in 1971. Sid is a 1967 graduate of the Auburn University School of Pharmacy.
Sid and his wife Jeani moved to Cairo from Ozark, AL and have called Cairo home for more than 50 years. Center Drugs has become a landmark in this community. His commitment to the profession of pharmacy thru the years is evident as Center Drugs celebrated it's 50th Anniversary a few years ago!!
To Sid, customers still come first! Talk to Sid about any of your pharmacy needs.
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Paige Moore, Front-end Manager
Paige is a Cairo native and has worked for Center Drugs since 1994.
Over the past 30 years, Paige has become our wedding registry expert. She can assist the bride to be with almost everything, from ordering the invitations, to picking out just the right items for their bridal registry. Paige's vast knowledge of china, crystal, and flatware patterns and trends is by far the best in this area! She is always available to make recommendations for wedding registries or any special occasions.
Paige and her husband, Dusty have 2 sons, and enjoy spending family time together. Paige is happy to help with all of your bridal and gift-giving needs!
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Lexie Thornton, CPhT Certified Pharmacy Technician
Lexie is a native of Thomasville, Georgia. She moved to Cairo in 2016 and has worked as a Pharmacy Tech for the last 28 years. She joined Center Drugs in October of 2023 and quickly became an invaluable asset to the pharmacy staff. Lexie handles insurance claims, prior approvals, inventory control, and fills prescriptions.
In her spare time, Lexie loves to Facetime her son, who is in the military, and his wife and talk to her first grandchild.
Lexie provides excellent customer service and is available to assist you with any of your pharmacy needs.
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Madison Akridge, CPhT Certified Pharmacy Technician
Madison joined the Center Drugs pharmacy team in August of 2024. She has worked as a pharmacy tech since 2021. Madison can most often be found counting meds, making compounds or doing bubble packs for our compliance customers. Madison is married to her high school sweetheart, Tyler and they have one son and three furry kids. They live happily in Whigham, Georgia.
When not working, Madison enjoys being a new mom and spending time with her husband and son. She also says she loves to be a homebody and binge her favorite shows. Come see Madison for all your pharmacy needs today!