For 25 years, Mabile’s Corner Pharmacy has been much more than a place to fill a prescription. It has been a familiar face, a helping hand, a source of encouragement and, for many, a place that simply feels like family.
Today, Ray and Connie Mabile celebrate 25 years of serving Red River Parish and the surrounding communities through Mabile’s Corner Pharmacy. A quarter-century in business is an accomplishment on its own, but the story of Mabile’s is found in much more than the number of years its doors have been open.
It is found in the relationships built across the pharmacy counter, in employees who stayed for decades, in customers who became friends and in countless acts of kindness that often happened quietly and without recognition.
Where Employees Became Family
Perhaps one of the clearest signs of the kind of business Ray and Connie created can be found in the people who have worked beside them.
Kim Johnson has been there for an incredible 22 of the pharmacy’s 25 years.
“We are definitely family,” Johnson said. “They have not only gone above and beyond for our community but for me as well.”
Johnson still remembers the phone call that began it all. Connie asked if she could come in for an interview the next day and then added, essentially, if she said yes, could she stay and work?
Twenty-two years later, she is still there.
“My family and I have been truly blessed, and I can’t wait to continue to work by their side,” Johnson said.
Rachal Henry worked alongside Ray and Connie for 21 years and describes them as “two of the sweetest and caring people you will ever meet.”
“They were always going above and beyond for all of their employees,” Henry said. “I miss working at the pharmacy and with Connie and Ray, but they will always hold a special place in my heart.”
And that relationship does not seem to end when an employee leaves.
Laura Nealy Keith, who worked at Mabile’s for 11 years, said what she thought would simply be a job became immensely more.
When asked what Mabile’s means to her, her answer was simple: “In one word, EVERYTHING!”
“Ray and Connie not only blessed me with a job, but with a family,” Keith said. “They saw me marry the love of my life, become a mom and so much more. They have always stood by me and supported me through every chapter of my life.”
Some of her closest friendships also began there.
“My best friends to this day still work at Mabile’s,” she said. “To be a ‘Mabile’s Girl’ is truly to be blessed!”
Kara Longino spent eight years at the pharmacy before making a career change. Five years later, she said she can still turn to the Mabiles for support and advice, both medically and personally.
“That’s what Mabile’s Pharmacy is. It’s a family made of employers, fellow employees and the best patients,” Longino said. “They love with everything they have and put all of their hearts into their business and building relationships with everyone who walks through those doors.”
Former employee Misty Wainright shares much the same feeling. She began working with the Mabiles in 2006 and remembers crying when the time came for her to move away.
“Once family, always family,” Wainright said.
She credits Mabile’s with teaching her that true customer service means more than completing a transaction.
“It’s not just about serving people. It’s about loving and praying with your customers, making them family and creating a bond,” she said. “Every life is precious, and you never know what someone may be going through, so always lead with kindness.”
There were practical lessons, too. Misty still remembers the Mabile’s philosophy that “cleanliness is next to Godliness” and the workplace rule, “If you can lean, you can clean.”
And apparently leaving the payroll does not mean losing all the employee benefits.
Those Black Friday shopping trips, Wainright joked, still include current and former employees.
Caring That Goes Beyond the Pharmacy Counter
The word family appears again and again when people talk about Mabile’s, and the stories they tell help explain why.
Johnson has watched Ray and Connie change their own plans to make sure customers received needed medications or other help. She has seen them visit customers in the hospital and nursing home and celebrate with families after the arrival of a new baby.
But one of the smallest details may say the most.
Connie keeps a book containing the names of people she has promised to pray for and what they need prayers for. When customers have particularly important doctor appointments, Johnson said Connie has put the dates on her calendar so she can remember to check on them.
“If Mrs. Connie tells you she is praying for you, I can assure you she is,” Johnson said.
Ginger Craig experienced that care personally during one of the most difficult periods of her life.
“When I was battling breast cancer, Connie would leave the most encouraging notes on my prescriptions,” Craig recalled. “Each one was such a blessing to me as I went through one of the hardest seasons of my life.”
Those notes were small gestures, but to someone facing cancer, they meant much more.
For Jason and Lindsay Waters and their children, Jett and Hardee, the relationship with Ray and Connie has also grown far beyond that of pharmacist and customer.
“To our family, you have always been so much more than pharmacists—you are dear friends, caring neighbors, and people we know we can always count on,” the Waters family shared. “Your kindness, compassion, and dedication have touched countless lives and made our small town a better place.”
They said they are grateful not only for the care their family has received but also for the friendship they have shared with Connie and Ray through the years.
“We are truly grateful for your friendship and for the lasting difference you have made in our community.”
Quietly Giving Back
The care shown inside the pharmacy has extended throughout the community for the past 25 years.
Those who know Ray and Connie describe years of supporting local schools, athletic programs, fundraisers and families in need. Johnson said many of those acts were done without any desire for public recognition.
“So many times, the Mabiles have done for someone in need or donated without wanting the recognition,” Johnson said. “To them, it’s not about being seen. It’s because they have big hearts and wanted to help the community or just wanted to do something special for that person.”
Craig has seen that generosity through their support of children and athletics, including Red River Biddy Ball, high school athletics, golf tournaments, coed softball and many other local programs.
“Connie has never once hesitated to donate when called upon,” Craig said. “We are so blessed to have them here.”
For Andy and Pat Anderson, the relationship is personal as well.
“Ray and Connie Mabile are two of the most loving and giving people we know,” they said. “They truly care about their customers and the community they love and support. They have been there for us during some of our hardest times, and we are so blessed to call them not only our pharmacists but also our friends.”
Close friend Trina Brown said knowing the Mabiles personally has allowed her to see that the care customers experience is simply an extension of who they are.
“We are more than just friends; we consider each other family,” Brown said. “Their pharmacy is more than a business. It is a place where people in the community are welcomed, cared for and treated like family.”
A Legacy Measured in People
Friend Melissa Murray has watched the work behind the milestone and knows 25 years represents far more than what customers see from the other side of the counter.
“Behind these 25 years are early mornings, long days, difficult seasons, celebrations, friendships and an unwavering commitment to serving others,” Murray said.
She believes the kindness people encounter at Mabile’s is genuine because she knows the person behind so much of it.
“Knowing Connie personally, I know that the kindness and compassion people experience when they walk through those doors are genuine,” Murray said. “She truly cares about people, and I believe that is one of the greatest reasons this pharmacy has meant so much to so many for so long.”
Murray may have also provided the best way to measure what Mabile’s has accomplished.
“The greatest legacy isn’t measured only in years,” she said. “It is measured in the people she has helped, the families she has cared for, the friendships she has built and the trust she has earned within our community.”
Twenty-Five Years—and One Question Remains
Former employee Rhonda Murray remembers firsthand the time, hard work and dedication required to build Mabile’s into what it is today. She also remembers the kindness, generosity, encouragement and customer service that accompanied it.
“Thank y’all for caring for the people of Red River Parish, the surrounding communities and beyond,” Murray said. “For 25 years, y’all have shown kindness and compassion in so many ways.”
But after all these years, Rhonda still has one unanswered question for the staff:
Does everyone still spend part of the day explaining how to pronounce Mabile?
Is it Mobile? Maybile’s? Maybe even Maybelline?
Some things about a hometown pharmacy apparently never change.
More Than 25 Years
Twenty-five years can be measured on a calendar, but a calendar cannot measure what Mabile’s Corner Pharmacy has meant to this community.
That story is found in a prayer book filled with names. It is found in a handwritten note attached to a prescription during a battle with cancer. It is found in hospital and nursing home visits, school fundraisers and ball teams supported without fanfare. It is found in employees who stayed for decades and former employees who still call themselves family.
And it is found in generations of customers who have walked through the doors knowing there were people on the other side of the counter who cared about more than the prescription in their hands.
For 25 years, Ray and Connie Mabile have built something that cannot be measured by prescriptions filled or transactions completed. They have built relationships, friendships and trust.
The Red River Parish Journal congratulates Ray and Connie and the entire Mabile’s Corner Pharmacy family on 25 years of serving Red River Parish and the surrounding communities.
Happy 25th anniversary, Mabile’s Corner Pharmacy. Thank you for 25 years of taking care of the community that has been proud to call you its hometown pharmacy.
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