NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, March 30, 2004 – At its annual meeting, the Forest Resources Association named Andy Wood, a safety consultant and trainer for workers’ compensation insurer MEMIC, the winner of the prestigious 2004 H.H. Jefferson Memorial Safety Award. The award is made annually to a one winner.

Wood, who came to work for MEMIC in 1993, specializes in training workers in the logging industry. He is a certified trainer in the Certified Logging Professional (CLP) program who has trained hundreds of woods workers in safer strategies for cutting trees.

He was awarded the H.H. Jefferson Award for the Northeast region in October 2003, in part due to his leadership in developing a new training program for workers who help cut brush in Maine’s North Woods. This program, called the "Certified Silvicultural Worker" program focuses on the work of migrant workers, whose struggles became well known as a result of a tragic van accident which took the life of 14 when a van overturned in September 2002. The program focuses on a broad range of safety issues faced by these tree trimmers, many of whom work deep in the woods of Maine. Because many of the workers are Spanish-speaking, the training is offered in Spanish as well as English.

"Andy Wood is absolutely dedicated to the safety of workers in the woods in Maine," said MEMIC President and CEO John Leonard. "He has spent more than a decade in the field teaching workers that there is a better, safer way to fell trees. We’re proud to see Andy be recognized by the industry but we’re prouder still to know that Andy Wood works for our company."

"It was a great honor." said Wood, "It is important to me because it recognizes MEMIC’s efforts to continue to raise the bar for the entire industry. We do this by not only working with our customers but by reaching to all of those involved in this important industry". Wood has worked in the timber industry for more than 20 years. He has an associate’s degree in timber harvesting from Washington County Technical College and a bachelor’s degree in Forestry from the University of Maine. Before coming to MEMIC he worked for several wood harvesting operations. Wood is a resident of Bangor, Maine.

MEMIC, based in Portland, Maine, is Maine’s largest and leading workers’ compensation insurer with a growing profile across New England through MEMIC Indemnity Company, a subsidiary based in Manchester, N.H. The company has made workplace safety the focus of its efforts. Since its inception, workplace injuries in Maine have been reduced by nearly 30 percent. MEMIC is rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best, the insurance industry’s most respected benchmarking organization.