Thomas C. Quick, a highly regarded business executive and philanthropist, has been named the 2026 recipient of the Palm Beach Civic Association’s William J. “Bill” Brooks Community Service Award.
A Civic Association director since 2023 and a longtime Palm Beach resident, Quick will be honored at the Civic Association’s Annual Community Service Award Breakfast on Monday, February 2, at 9 a.m. at The Breakers.
Quick is president of First Palm Beach Properties, a commercial office and retail real estate holding company in Palm Beach, and is retired as vice chairman of Quick & Reilly/Fleet Securities.
He is a champion of The Ireland Funds, a global philanthropic network that promotes peace, culture, education and community development in Ireland and among Irish communities worldwide. He serves on the Ireland Funds’ Executive Management Board, chairs its Grants Committee, and is co-chair of the organization’s Annual Palm Beach Dinner.
Quick was recently elected board chairman of The Ireland Funds, effective in June 2026 when the organization celebrates the 50th anniversary of its founding.
Quick’s other board affiliations include the Palm Beach Police & Fire Foundation, Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach, Safeguard Palm Beach, Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County, Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and The Inner-City Scholarship Fund in New York City.
As a charity auctioneer at many fundraisers, he has helped raise tens of millions of dollars for hosting organizations.
Michele Kessler, vice chairman of the Civic Association and chairman of its Fundraising/Development Committee, said she has known Quick for nearly 30 years and couldn’t think of anyone more deserving of the Brooks Award.
“In addition to his national and international charitable leadership, he has contributed his time and talents to his church, his friends and his community,” Kessler said. “The Palm Beach Police and Fire Foundation, the Preservation Foundation and the Palm Beach Zoo are just a part of the lucky organizations that receive his support. Bill Brooks would be so proud.”
Mary Robosson, CEO of the Civic Association, said Quick is a friend to many and an outstanding representative of the community service and goodwill for which Palm Beach is so well known.
“Tom is an extraordinary community leader, serving so many organizations in such wonderful philanthropic ways,” she said. “We are delighted that he is our honoree of the Bill Brooks Community Service Award.”
The Brooks Award is named for the late general manager of WPTV NewsChannel 5 and former president of the Palm Beach Town Council. Individuals and organizations have been honored with the accolade since 2011 for service that has significantly improved the quality of life in Palm Beach.
Quick told the Civic Association he’s honored to be a recipient of the Brooks Award.
“It’s very humbling to receive this recognition from neighbors, friends and business associates,” he said.
Quick said he was a friend and admirer of Brooks, who died in 2010. “I was fortunate enough to know Bill and his late wife [Muffy]. He was a warm, compassionate and loving individual.”
A Long Island native, Quick said he and his siblings were taught the value and importance of charitable giving by their parents.
His first foray into charitable fundraising was for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. He launched a charity benefit, called Wall Street Salutes St. Jude’s Children, which he said continues to this day. Quick joined the board of St. Jude’s at age 36.
Quick earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Fairfield University in 1977.
He began visiting Palm Beach in 1976, when his father opened his first Quick & Reilly office on South County Road.
Quick has homes in New York, Ireland, and Palm Beach, where he has been a resident since 1990. “It’s paradise – with wonderful, warm and generous people and beautiful architecture,” he said of Palm Beach.
John Scarpa, co-founder and board chairman of the Palm Beach Police & Fire Foundation, serves alongside Quick on that board and on the board of Safeguard Palm Beach (formerly Palm Beach Crimewatch), which is chaired by Quick.
Scarpa said Quick possesses three qualities of great leadership – vision, passion and commitment.
“Through Tom’s leadership and vast contacts globally, he’s able to bring a lot of support to Palm Beach,” Scarpa said. “When you have a friend like Tom Quick, you don’t need too many other friends.”
Scarpa is a member of the Civic Association’s Executive and Public Safety committees and a director since 2013.
Susan Wright, co-chair of the Civic Association’s Communications Committee and a director since 2020, said she and her husband Bob Wright, chairman emeritus of the Civic Association, have known Quick for more than three decades.
“He is a man of true integrity and humility, and he has a tremendous heart,” she said. “He has given and given to this community. He embodies everything the Bill Brooks Community Service Award represents.”
Lester Holt, NBC News’ award-winning journalist and Dateline NBC anchor, will be keynote speaker at the 2026 Community Service Award Breakfast where Quick will receive the Brooks Award.
The program is sponsored by the Fanjul family and Florida Crystals.
Tickets start at $240 for Civic Association members and are $400 for non-members.
To purchase tickets or a table, call 561-655-0820 or CLICK HERE.
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