It’s often the small acts of kindness that make the biggest impact.
When Ashley Brown’s daughter, Frances, was in hospice care, Surrey Center Pharmacy sometimes opened a little early so Ashley Brown could get necessary medications for her daughter.
“The owner, pharmacists and employees of Surrey Center Pharmacy are truly family. They go above and beyond what any typical ‘drugstore’ would ever provide, and they do it not out of obligation or for a bigger fee, they do it because they care about their people and this community,” said Brown, whose daughter was born with Macrocephaly-Capillary Malformation (M-CM), a multiple malformation syndrome causing abnormal head and body overgrowth and abnormalities of the skin, vascular system, brain and limbs.
Frances died at the age of 11 in 2018.
Courtnee Russ, who has owned Surrey Center Pharmacy since 2014, said the business is built on old-fashioned principles, established by Earl Wright when he started the business in 1979.
“We get to know our folks and support them in whatever way we can. The main thing is helping people,” said Russ, who met Wright when she was in college and started working at the pharmacy. She’d initially planned on going into early childhood education, but she went into pharmacy and later purchased the business.
And he taught her more than just how to be a good pharmacist.
“He definitely taught me the whole business,” she said.
Being family to her customers like Brown is a cornerstone of the business model.
“I want to be part of the community. I want to be able to call you by name. I don’t want you to just be a prescription,” she said.
That type of service has led to long-term customer relationships. A few customers date to Wright’s days at National Hills Pharmacy before he moved to Surrey Center.
“Some families have five generations of customers,” she said.
Besides getting prescriptions filled, people can get vaccines at clinics in the fall. One of the staff pharmacists stays abreast of vitamins and supplements to provide expertise with those items.
The pharmacy is more than a drug dispensary, however. It offers an array of gifts as well as books and there’s frozen yogurt which is a crowd favorite. Russ said about a dozen people show up every Thursday to socialize over frozen yogurt.
While the drugstore side draws many repeat customers, the business was also home to a post office for more than four decades, closing in September 2025. It brought in a lot of traffic; however, customer outcry mixed with elected official intervention couldn’t save it from the chopping block.
People miss being able to mail packages from the spot.
“At least two or three people a week still come in with bundles in their arms. We have to send them to the UPS store,” she said.
Many of those regular postal service customers never filled a prescription, they only shipped packages, and she said their presence is missed.
Russ has repurposed the postal service area as a book nook, highlighting local authors as well as showcasing classic children’s books.
“I love books,” she said. “It’s a way to pull the local community in. There are tons of local authors out there.”
The books cover a wide variety of genres from Vera Stewart’s cookbooks to Mark Albertin’s photography books and everything in between. Russ also has a collection of children’s classic books.
Russ has scheduled events to tie into the new book corner. Stewart had a book signing at the business a few months ago, and Russ said she’d like to have more events at the location.
She also stocks other local and regional items such as handmade potholders, art gifts such as note cards, and sometimes items made by people at Lynndale.
Although she didn’t pursue her career in education, Russ does do outreaches with area schools.
We enjoy serving the community,” she said. “We do whatever we can to help.”
Surrey Center Pharmacy is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. It’s closed on Sundays.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards, is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award and was named best local writer by readers of Augusta Magazine in 2024 and 2025. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
