​ After returning to his previous work with independent pharmacies, in 1996 Otto stepped out again and accepted the position as Director of Experiential Education at the newly created Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. While pioneering this position, Otto travelled throughout the state and became quite aware of the concerns of many people in our rural areas including the opioid crisis which was just developing in Southwest Virginia at that time. It was also during this time that he earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree at Shenandoah University and served as President of the Virginia Pharmacists Association.

​ Although Otto found the Winchester region in Virginia quite appealing, in 2003 he returned home to the 75th District and purchased his father's pharmacy that he still owns and continues to help those in our community with their prescription needs. He is quite fortunate to have some outstanding and friendly staff to assist with serving their patients who need and deserve assistance with understanding their healthcare needs. It is this position, from behind and in front of the pharmacy counter that Otto has gained his sense of passion for his community. As portions of our economy according to the experts seem to have improved the past few years, it is apparent in rural areas such as most of the 75th District this move to prosperity appears to have stalled. While we hear of programs to help improve the economy from a statewide level, with very few exceptions, Otto has not seen those benefits translate well to those in our community. Instead he sees many areas of decline for his patients and as a small business owner he watches as hardware stores, grocery stores and other pharmacies close leaving those in the community with a loss of valuable resources. These reasons are what have prompted Otto to make a bid for the office of Delegate for the 75th District in Virginia.

​ Today Otto and his wife Judy have their roots in Sussex County to stay. In addition to their pharmacy, he enjoys living in the house that he and Judy had built on that very same farm that Otto enjoyed spending so much time on with his grandfather. They have two daughters, Katherine (Kate) and Kirsten that have recently moved off the farm and into their own. Kate works at Southern Virginia Regional Medical Center in Emporia as an X-ray/CT technician and their youngest daughter Kirsten is in graduate school at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia. When Judy isn't maintaining her efforts with managing the dual enrollment high school student program at Paul D Community College in Franklin, VA in their free time, she and Otto enjoy their farmhouse with their chocolate Labrador Celexa who is probably at this very moment adding to her collection of sticks, rocks and weeds she keeps in the family room.

​