PORTLAND, ME, July 1, 2014 – At its Annual Meeting, workers’ compensation insurer MEMIC awarded $10,000 in scholarships to two Maine students. Katie Smith of Greenbush, Maine, and Kaitlyn Townsend of Livermore, Maine, each received $5,000 for college.

The MEMIC Harvey Picker Horizon Scholarship is awarded annually to the spouse or child of a worker who has suffered a serious injury or death at work. The winners are selected from dozens of applicants each year. Applicants must show potential for academic success and demonstrate financial need.

“This scholarship is another way of acknowledging the challenges that can impact a worker who is injured at work,” said MEMIC Senior Vice President of External Affairs Michael Bourque. “We hope to help these two families who were confronted with serious workplace injuries. These are two impressive young women and we’re proud to be able to offer some additional support.”

About a year ago, Smith’s father suffered a severe workplace injury requiring significant reconstruction to his shoulder, knee, ears and teeth. Inspired by the nurses who cared for her father during his recovery, Smith has chosen to pursue a nursing degree.

Smith is a recent graduate of Orono High School in Orono, Maine and plans to attend University of Maine - Fort Kent. Ranked 16th out of her class of 85, and also class president, Smith has been active in sports and was captain of both her varsity basketball and softball teams.

Nearly two years ago, Townsend’s father suffered an injury to his lower back, which has limited his ability to continue to work within his profession as a plumber.

Townsend attended Central Maine Community College for the last two years and plans to transfer to the University of Maine as a business management major. In addition to school, Townsend has worked two jobs to pay her own tuition and reduce her reliance on student loans. Her supervisors praise her as “exceptionally responsible, self-motivated, dependable and hard-working.”

The MEMIC Harvey Picker Horizon Scholarship has been presented annually since 2001. With the 2014 award, MEMIC has granted scholarships totaling $110,000.

MEMIC's scholarship program is named after former Camden resident Harvey Picker, who died in March of 2008. Picker was a renowned physicist, educator and philanthropist who valued education. In 1992, Picker was appointed by then Governor John R. McKernan as a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Workers’ Compensation, which led to the formation of MEMIC. Picker later served as a member of the Board of Directors at MEMIC.

About MEMIC

The MEMIC Group includes parent company, Maine Employers’ Mutual Insurance Company, rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best, and MEMIC Indemnity Company, also rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best, as well as MEMIC Casualty Company, also rated “A” (Excellent). As super-regional workers’ compensation specialty insurers, The MEMIC Group holds licenses to write workers’ compensation in 46 states plus the District of Columbia. The group insures more than 20,000 employers and their estimated 300,000 employees, and holds more than $1 billion in assets. The group maintains offices in Manchester, NH; Glastonbury, CT; Albany, NY; Weehawken, NJ; West Conshohocken, PA; Tysons Corner, VA; and Tampa, FL; in addition to its headquarters in Portland, ME.