The Catholic Business Network of Baltimore (CBNB) has announced that the Honorable Francis X. Kelly, Jr., Chairman and Co-founder of Kelly & Associates Insurance Group (KELLY), is the 2016 recipient of the annual Catholic Business Leadership Award. 

Frank Kelly graduated from Villanova University with a B.S. degree in Economics. In 1976, he and his wife Janet started KELLY, and today it is one of Maryland’s fastest growing privately-held firms with nearly 13,000 corporate clients. 

In 1979 Frank Kelly was elected to the Maryland State Senate where he served for 12 years. During that time, Senator Kelly advocated for establishing the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), and sponsored the law creating the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. He has since served on the boards of both organizations. The Honorable Senator Francis X. Kelly Distinguished Professorship in Trauma Surgery was established in his honor. His most recent appointment is Chairman of the new Board of Directors of UMMS’ St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson. 

In the 1990s Senator Kelly turned his focus to education and worked to consolidate Baltimore County’s three community colleges into one Community College of Baltimore County system. CCBC’s Hunt Valley Center is named for him. In addition, he served as vice chair of the Morgan State University Board of Regents for 14 years. He has also been prominent in revitalizing Calvert Hall College High School’s campus. 

Senator Kelly has received numerous recognition awards over the years, including: The Baltimore Health Underwriters Association “Person of the Year”; Maryland Health Underwriters Hall of Fame; Stuart Macht Award for Business Excellence (Baltimore County government); Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce’s Business Hall of Fame; the Chimes Hall of Fame; the American Trauma Society’s Distinguished Achievement Award, among many others. Senator Kelly has also been recognized by Irish American magazine as one of the top 100 Irish business leaders in the United States. 

“Senator Kelly’s lifetime of achievement and commitment to the state of Maryland and the Baltimore community exemplify the importance of not just going through the motions of life but rather choosing to make a difference while standing on the firm ground of faith and values. With his dedication to family and faith, it is an honor for us to recognize him,” said Diane Beliveau, CBNB’s president. 

The 2016 Leadership Award will be presented at CBNB’s Fifth Annual Dinner on Thursday, May 12, 2016 at the Wyndham Hunt Valley Inn in Hunt Valley, Maryland. The event will be hosted by WMAR-TV’s Jamie Costello and will feature keynote speaker Fr. Timothy Gallagher, O.M.V., author and frequent speaker on ETWN. 

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