Highmark employees selected as Jefferson Awards for Public Service Winners

PITTSBURGH, April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Highmark Inc. today honored 12 employees with a Jefferson Award for Public Service in recognition of their outstanding commitment to the community through volunteerism. Highmark serves as a Jefferson Award Champion, and is one of only 25 companies nationally with the privilege to recognize its employees with this prestigious award.

"Highmark's employees are truly in touch with the needs of the community and offer their selfless commitment to important organizations and programs each year. We are proud to honor them today with this distinguished award," said Dan Onorato, Highmark executive vice president, chief external affairs and communications officer.   

This morning, Highmark recognized the 12 employees during a special ceremony in the company's Pittsburgh headquarters. Kay O'Grady, an employee of Highmark vision subsidiary Viva International Group, was selected to represent volunteers from across the enterprise at the National Jefferson Awards ceremony this June in Washington, D.C. Ms. O'Grady was recognized for her more than 600 hours of volunteer time for the Guide Dog Foundation the Blind and America's VetDogs®.

About Highmark Inc.
Highmark Inc., based in Pittsburgh, is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans. Highmark serves 4.9 million members in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware through the company's health care benefits business and is one of the largest Blue plans in the nation. Highmark has 19,500 employees across the country and provides a broad range of health and wellness related services through subsidiary and affiliate companies. For more information, visit www.highmark.com.

About The Jefferson Awards
The Jefferson Awards was co-founded in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, U.S. Sen. Robert Taft Jr. and Sam Beard, as the 'Nobel Prize' for public service. Named for one of America's most influential Founding Fathers, and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, the Jefferson Awards' central tenet is that each and every citizen shares a responsibility to work towards the betterment of their communities through economic participation, public service, volunteerism and other such efforts to improve life for all. Today, the mission of the Jefferson Awards is to recognize, inspire and activate volunteerism and public service in communities, workplaces and schools across America. As President John F. Kennedy once said, "One person can make a difference and every person should try" and to date, over 50,000 individuals of all ages have been recognized by the Jefferson Awards for their efforts to make the world around them a better place.  For more information on The Jefferson Awards, visit www.JeffersonAwards.org.

SOURCE Highmark Inc.