PITTSBURGH, April 26, 2011 /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 three companies, and the only health insurance company in Pennsylvania, with the privilege to recognize its employees with this prestigious award.

"Highmark encourages employee engagement in the community and is proud to recognize employees who simply go above and beyond in making a difference," said Dave O'Brien, executive vice president of government services and external affairs. "These awards set an exceptional standard in which Highmark employees continuously meet each year."

This morning, Dr. Kenneth Melani, Highmark president and chief executive officer, Dave O'Brien, Highmark executive vice president of government service and external affairs, and Evan Frazier, Highmark senior vice president of community affairs, honored the 12 employees at a special ceremony. Hector Gonzalez, a retail operations director for Eye Care Centers of America, a subsidiary of Highmark Inc., in Hialeah, Fla., was selected to represent Highmark at the National Jefferson Awards ceremony this June in Washington, D.C.

Read about Hector's efforts to curb hunger in the homeless community and details about the other Jefferson Award winners in Highmark's newsroom.

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 4.8 million members in Pennsylvania and West Virginia 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. For more than 70 years, Highmark's commitment to the community has consistently been among the company's highest priorities as it strives to positively impact the communities where we do business. For more information, visit www.highmark.com.

SOURCE Highmark Inc.