MEMIC Honors Katrina Volunteers
January 30, 2006 | Corporate
PORTLAND, Maine, January 30, 2006—Tornadoes, fire ants and 104-degree days aren’t the usual predicaments encountered by someone who lives in Maine. But, when Hurricane Katrina pounded the Gulf of Mexico some 1,800 miles away, five Maine Employers’ Mutual Insurance Company (MEMIC) employees faced these and greater challenges to help the victims left in the storm’s wake.
"There is probably no other company in our state more qualified to lend a hand. Our employees encounter devastating accidents and health-related issues day in and day out," said MEMIC President and CEO John Leonard at the company’s annual Employee Luncheon in January, at which volunteers were recognized.
With full support of MEMIC, 30 employees initially responded to a companywide call for Red Cross volunteers. In the end, two nurses, two vice presidents and a logging specialist were summoned for a three-week duty.
Their journeys that followed were reports of extreme working conditions, unanticipated destruction and tales of hardship and hope.
Judy Crooker, a nurse, remembers the devastation when nearing flooded Biloxi, Mississippi.
"All that could be seen were the piles of debris on each side of the highway. Bare concrete slabs with steps leading to nowhere," said Crooker.
Some MEMIC volunteers confronted not only the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but found themselves amidst Hurricane Rita, which spawned tens of tornadoes.
"It was the most stressful job I have ever done," said Dan Cote, senior vice president of loss control, who served as a government liaison. "The very people who lost everything as a result of Katrina were now seeking shelter from Rita and competing for shelter and food with the people who were caring for them three weeks earlier."
Logging specialist Andy Wood traveled to New Orleans to pass out ice, water, food and personal care items to as many as 1,200 people daily. He said he often found himself lending an ear to the victims who needed to tell their story.
"There were tears on both sides of the line," Wood said.
Perhaps one Gulf Coast resident summed up the experience best in a note to Wood and his fellow volunteers: "Thank you from all of us, not only for the items to clean and nourish, but also for the heart that brought you here."
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Maine Employers' Mutual Insurance Company (MEMIC), based in Portland, Maine, is Maine's largest and leading workers' compensation insurer, providing coverage to 21,000 Maine employers and their estimated 170,000 employees. The company is rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best. MEMIC Indemnity Company, based in Manchester, NH, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MEMIC. It is licensed to write workers' compensation policies throughout the Northeast and into the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. It is rated “A-” (Excellent) by A.M. Best.
"There is probably no other company in our state more qualified to lend a hand. Our employees encounter devastating accidents and health-related issues day in and day out," said MEMIC President and CEO John Leonard at the company’s annual Employee Luncheon in January, at which volunteers were recognized.
With full support of MEMIC, 30 employees initially responded to a companywide call for Red Cross volunteers. In the end, two nurses, two vice presidents and a logging specialist were summoned for a three-week duty.
Their journeys that followed were reports of extreme working conditions, unanticipated destruction and tales of hardship and hope.
Judy Crooker, a nurse, remembers the devastation when nearing flooded Biloxi, Mississippi.
"All that could be seen were the piles of debris on each side of the highway. Bare concrete slabs with steps leading to nowhere," said Crooker.
Some MEMIC volunteers confronted not only the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but found themselves amidst Hurricane Rita, which spawned tens of tornadoes.
"It was the most stressful job I have ever done," said Dan Cote, senior vice president of loss control, who served as a government liaison. "The very people who lost everything as a result of Katrina were now seeking shelter from Rita and competing for shelter and food with the people who were caring for them three weeks earlier."
Logging specialist Andy Wood traveled to New Orleans to pass out ice, water, food and personal care items to as many as 1,200 people daily. He said he often found himself lending an ear to the victims who needed to tell their story.
"There were tears on both sides of the line," Wood said.
Perhaps one Gulf Coast resident summed up the experience best in a note to Wood and his fellow volunteers: "Thank you from all of us, not only for the items to clean and nourish, but also for the heart that brought you here."
###
Maine Employers' Mutual Insurance Company (MEMIC), based in Portland, Maine, is Maine's largest and leading workers' compensation insurer, providing coverage to 21,000 Maine employers and their estimated 170,000 employees. The company is rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best. MEMIC Indemnity Company, based in Manchester, NH, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MEMIC. It is licensed to write workers' compensation policies throughout the Northeast and into the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. It is rated “A-” (Excellent) by A.M. Best.