PALM BEACH, Fla. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores wrapped up the 2016 NACDS Annual Meeting yesterday with H-E-B’s Martin Otto giving his first remarks as the new NACDS chairman.

Speaking during the morning Business Program on Tuesday, Otto reinforced key NACDS priorities, including creating a “retailer-supplier marketplace,” advocating on behalf of the retail pharmacy industry, and helping to improve the nation’s health care delivery system.

“I generally hear that NACDS’ meetings are the best in the industry partly because everyone comes to the meetings, and the reason everyone comes to the meetings is that they’re the best in the industry,” Otto told attendees. “It’s also a role of our association to be a leader in improving health care in our country. We need to lead in quality, cost and access.”

Otto, too, presented a plaque of recognition to outgoing NACDS chairman Randy Edeker of Hy-Vee.

Also speaking in the Business Program was Gen. Martin Dempsey, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dempsey’s talk included the results of a poll taken at the end of last year in which respondents were asked to list the nation’s top concerns.

“Terrorism was No. 1 at 16%, No. 2 was dissatisfaction with the government at 13%, and the economy at 9%,” Dempsey said. He later discussed some of the leading threats to national security in an interview with NACDS-TV.

That evening also saw the presentation of the the Robert B. Begley Award to Tim Hayes, former president of Bayer Consumer Health, at the Annual Meeting’s dinner and awards ceremony — capped off with a performance by singing icon Tony Bennett.

Other NACDS-TV video highlights from the Annual Meeting’s last day include remarks from Johnson & Johnson’s Dave Pothast, who also spoke during the Business Program, and comments from Kantar Retail’s Bryan Gildenberg, Hamacher Resource Group’s Dave Wendland and CPM U.S.’s Matt Fuiks.

Next year’s Annual Meeting is scheduled for April 22 to 25, 2017, at The Phoenician, in Scottsdale, Ariz.