PORTLAND, Maine, June 27, 2011—At its Annual Meeting of the Policyholders, MEMIC awarded $10,000 in scholarships to two students. Paige Libby of Whitefield, New Hampshire, and Melissa Gelinas of Saco, Maine, each received $5,000.

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. They are selected from dozens of applicants each year.

Paige’s mother, Debra, suffered a serious injury from a fall down a flight of stairs at the hotel where she worked. Melissa’s father, John, a truck driver, died from injuries in a tragic vehicle crash in 2006. Melissa is a two-time winner of the MEMIC Harvey Picker Horizon Scholarship, a first for the scholarship. 

“This scholarship is our way of acknowledging the difficulty that a workplace injury can place upon the hopes and dreams of family,” said MEMIC Senior Vice President of External Affairs Michael Bourque. “We hope to help these two families who were confronted with tragedy see a brighter future on the horizon. We’re proud to support Paige’s and Melissa’s education.” 

Paige is a new graduate from White Mountains Regional High School and is attending Johnson State College in Vermont this fall. She is a proponent of teen drug and alcohol prevention, volunteering with a number of groups, and also helped raise funds for the Haitian Relief Effort. Melissa earned a 3.61 grade point average during her freshman year at the University of Vermont and was invited to apply to the school’s honors college. 

The MEMIC Harvey Picker Horizon Scholarship has been presented annually every year since 2001. With the 2011 award, MEMIC has granted scholarships totaling $80,000. 

MEMIC's scholarship program is named after 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 Gov. 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 of MEMIC.

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About MEMIC

Specializing in workers' compensation insurance, MEMIC insures nearly 18,000 employers and their estimated 170,000 employees. Based in the Northeast, MEMIC is the leading workers' compensation insurer in Maine through Maine Employers’ Mutual Insurance Company which is rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best. The company is the parent of MEMIC Indemnity Company, rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best, with offices in Manchester, NH; Glastonbury, CT; and Albany, NY. MEMIC Indemnity Company is licensed to write workers' compensation in 45 states plus the District of Columbia.