The Palm Beach Civic Association honored Thomas C. Quick on Monday for his many years of outstanding philanthropy and community leadership.
Quick, a business executive, longtime Palm Beach resident and Civic Association director since 2023, received the 2026 William J. “Bill” Brooks Community Service Award.
Michele Kessler, vice chairman of the Civic Association, told an audience of more than 200 people, gathered for the organization’s annual award breakfast at The Breakers, that she could think of “no one more deserving” of the Brooks award than Quick.
“As a charity auctioneer at many fundraisers, Tom has helped raise tens of millions of dollars for hosting organizations,” Kessler said. “In addition to his national and international charitable leadership, Tom contributes his time and talents to his church, his friends, and his community.”
Quick is president of First Palm Beach Properties and is retired as vice chairman of Quick & Reilly-Fleet Securities.
Quick’s charitable board affiliations are numerous, Kessler said. He has been an integral part of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Catholic charities and Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
“The Palm Beach Police and Fire Foundation, Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach, and Palm Beach Zoo are just a few of the organizations fortunate enough to benefit from Tom’s dedicated support,” Kessler said.
Quick is a champion of The Ireland Funds global philanthropic network. He serves on the organization’s executive management board, chairs its grants committee, and is co-chair of its Annual Palm Beach Dinner.
He was recently elected board chairman of The Ireland Funds, effective in June 2026 when the organization celebrates the 50th anniversary of its founding in June 2026.
“Bill Brooks would be so proud if he could be here this morning to see Tom receive this award,” Kessler said.
The Brooks Award is named for the late general manager of WPTV NewsChannel 5 and former president of the Palm Beach Town Council who died in 2010.
Quick is a Long Island native who earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Fairfield University in 1977. He has been a Palm Beach resident since 1990.
He began visiting Palm Beach at the age of 21 in 1976, when his father opened his first Quick & Reilly office on South County Road. Quick recalled his first trip over the Royal Park [middle] Bridge into Palm Beach, and being stunned by the beauty and elegance of the town.
“In that moment I knew I had discovered something that would stay with me the rest of my life: Palm Beach,” Quick said. “It’s hard to believe the journey that began in 1976 has led me here to accept this Bill Brooks Community Service Award.”
Quick recalled being introduced to Brooks and his late wife, Muffy, by mutual friends.
“To be associated with Bill’s name is profoundly meaningful, as Bill represented the very best of Palm Beach civic life: quiet leadership, steady service and a belief that the community is something that you invest in, not because you’re asked, but because it matters,” Quick said.
Being a Brooks award recipient is both an honor and a responsibility, he said.
“I choose to accept this award because I believe it can serve as a call to action, a signal to our new neighbors, and a reminder to the next generation that their involvement matters …” Quick said.
Palm Beach is a remarkable town where civic engagement is a tradition and philanthropy is a responsibility that strengthens institutions and holds the community together, he said.
Those values are upheld and promoted by the Palm Beach Civic Association, Quick said.
“This organization exists not for ceremony but for impact, for advocacy, for thoughtful dialogue and for the long-term wellbeing of our beloved Palm Beach,” he said.
Dan Stanton, a member of the Civic Association’s Executive Committee and a director since 2023, said Quick exemplifies the ethic of “learn, earn and return.”
“The real measure of that is, ‘Do you change lives?’” Stanton said. “And I think he’s changed more lives than most people I’ve ever met.”
Michael Reiter, a member of the Civic Association’s Executive Committee and a director since 2013, said Quick deserved to receive the Brooks award.
“His speech was fantastic,” Reiter said. “Everybody agrees that Tom is quintessential Palm Beach.”
The Fanjul family and Florida Crystals have sponsored the Civic Association’s award breakfast each year since 2018.
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