Catholic Charities to honor Highmark executives with Msgr. Reese award April 2

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Timothy J. Constantine, president of Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware, and William E. Kirk, III, the company’s vice president and corporate secretary, will receive the Msgr. Thomas J. Reese Award at Catholic Charities’ Annual Tribute Dinner on Wednesday, April 2.

Timothy J. Constantine (left), president of Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware, and William E. Kirk, III, the company’s vice president and corporate secretary, will receive the Msgr. Thomas J. Reese Award at Catholic Charities Annual Tribute Dinner on Wednesday, April 2.

Bishop Malooly will present the award during the event at the Chase Center on the Riverfront.

The award, created in 1989 in memory of Msgr. Thomas J. Reese, community activist and longtime director of Catholic Social Services, the forerunner of Catholic Charities, recognizes exemplary individuals who have demonstrated a deep commitment to promoting and restoring the well-being of people – Catholic Charities’ mission.

“Both of our honorees, Tim Constantine and Bill Kirk, are longtime friends of Catholic Charities,” said Richelle A. Vible, executive director. “Their dedication to our mission, promoting the well-being of people by providing caring service to those in need, mirrors Msgr. Reese’s commitment to the most vulnerable. I am pleased to recognize each man for his dedication to our communities.”

Constantine joined Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware (predecessor to Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield) in 1998 as vice president of Network and Medical Management. He was appointed president in 2001 and president and chief executive officer in 2007.

A Delaware resident for more than 20 years, Constantine has a strong commitment to the state’s businesses and communities. He serves as a director/trustee on the following boards: the United Way of Delaware (immediate past chair); Wesley College; Delaware Business Roundtable; and Delaware State Chamber of Commerce. Constantine served on the board of drectors of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) from 2006 – 2011.

Constantine lives in Hockessin with his wife Noreen and three children, and is a parishioner of St. Mary of the Assumption Church.  He has been a CYM basketball coach for St. Mary of the Assumption Parish since 2004. He is a graduate of Loyola University of Maryland.

Kirk has been associated with Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware (formerly Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware) since 1980. He was the company’s first general counsel, serving in that role for 30 years. As vice president and corporate secretary, he oversees the company’s government relations and advises on external and board relations.

Kirk serves as chair of the Diocesan Review Board and is a member of the Diocese of Wilmington’s Public Policy Committee. He served as a member of the Advisory Board of Catholic Charities Inc., including as chairman from 1996–1998. He also served as a trustee of the Catholic Diocese Foundation. With his brother Richard D. Kirk and sister Susan H. Kirk-Ryan, fellow members of the Delaware bar, he was honored by the St. Thomas More Society of the Diocese of Wilmington with its 2012 Msgr. Paul J. Taggart Award.

Along with his wife Hazel and their three children, Kirk has been a parishioner since 1986 of the Cathedral of St. Peter in Wilmington, and for most of that time he has served the cathedral parish as a lector and lay trustee. Kirk has lived in Delaware for more than 60 years, and is a graduate of Salesianum School, St. Joseph’s University and the University of Virginia School of Law.

To learn more about Catholic Charities’ Annual Tribute Dinner or to support the tribute dinner through sponsorships or ticket purchases, visit the Catholic Charities webpage for the dinner at www.cdow.org/tribute.html.

Catholic Charities, serving those in need for more than 180 years, offers a wide range of services to strengthen families, care for children, assist the disadvantaged, and build human relationships throughout Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland.