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William M. Lowry, Retired CEO of Highmark, Inc. and Keith Kappmeyer,
Retired Executive Vice President and COO of Highmark, Inc. to be
featured on "Disability Matters" with Joyce Bender

PITTSBURGH, PA- William M. Lowry, retired CEO of Highmark, Inc. and
Keith Kappmeyer, retired Executive Vice President and COO of Highmark,
Inc. will be featured with Joyce Bender on "Disability Matters" on
Tuesday, December 14, 2004 from 2 PM to 3 PM Eastern Time.

As CEO, Mr. Lowry directed the day-to-day business operations of
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, the corporation's trade name in Western
PA.  Highmark is positioned among the top 10 health care insurers in the
nation and is the third largest Blue Cross and Blue Shield company
representing revenues in excess of 7 billion dollars.

Mr. Lowry joined Blue Cross of Western PA in 1984.  He was named
President and CEO in May 1994.  In December 1996, under Mr. Lowry's
direction, Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania merged with Pennsylvania
Blue Shield to form Highmark, Inc.

Mr. Lowry earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from Duquesne
University.   He served as an executive professor for the MBA and
undergraduate programs at Duquesne University's School of Management and
also served on the advisory board for the Rangos School of Health
Science.

Before retiring from Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Keith K. Kappmeyer
was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer responsible for
Operations, Information Systems, Legal Affairs, Human Resources,
Corporate Audit, Training, Community Affairs, Quality Management,
Strategic Planning, Purchasing, as well as oversight of the Health
Education Center and the Caring Foundation.  Mr. Kappmeyer was a member
of the Board of Directors of Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania from
1974 to 1992 and served as its Chairman from 1986 through 1992, when he
joined the company as a full-time employee.

Prior to joining Blue Cross, Mr. Kappmeyer served 35 years with the USX
Corporation.  He joined the firm's research group in 1957 and managed a
number of different functions for the USX Steel Group.  A graduate of
the University of Illinois, Mr. Kappmeyer holds both a bachelor's and
master's degree in Ceramic Engineering.  He also earned a master's
degree in Business and Management from MIT, where he was a Sloan Fellow.

The host of Disability Matters, Joyce A. Bender, is President and CEO of
Bender Consulting Services, Inc. (BCS) and its "sister company" Bender
Consulting Services of Canada, Inc. (BCSC).  BCS provides competitive
employment opportunities for Americans with disabilities in the areas of
information technology, engineering, finance/accounting, human resources
and general business.  In 1985, Joyce had a life-threatening accident
due to epilepsy, which caused an intracranial hemorrhage that required
subsequent brain surgery.  Against all odds, Joyce recovered from this
accident that left her with a 60 percent hearing loss in one ear and a
realization that she had epilepsy.  As a result of her personal
experience, she developed a passion for helping people with disabilities
and founded both companies.  Ms. Bender is the recipient of the 2003 New
Freedom Initiative Award from the Bush Administration, as well as the
1999 President's Award from President Clinton.

For more information on Joyce A. Bender and her companies, Bender
Consulting Services, Inc. and Bender Consulting Services of Canada,
Inc., visit, www.benderconsult.com or www.benderofcanada.com. To learn
more about Voice America, visit, www.voiceamerica.com.  Past radio shows
are archived on www.benderconsult.com.  To learn more about Highmark,
Inc., visit, www.highmark.com.


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