Mapleton student
awarded $5,000 MEMIC scholarship
PORTLAND — At its annual policyholders meeting June 11, MEMIC awarded a $5,000 scholarship to Brett Wilson of Mapleton.
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.
“This scholarship is our way of acknowledging the difficulty that a workplace injury can place upon the hopes and dreams of families of injured workers,” 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 Brett’s education.”
Brett Wilson’s father suffered a serious injury in 2008. He was working as a door and window installer when a garage door fell onto his head causing a neck injury that remains disabling despite several surgeries.
Wilson is a 2012 graduate of Presque Isle High School and will attend the University of Maine at Fort Kent where he will study forestry. He graduated in the top half of his class and is described by teachers and guidance counselors as a “talented and focused student” with a “quiet resolve and a sincere commitment to succeed.”
The MEMIC Harvey Picker Horizon Scholarship has been presented annually every year since 2001. With the 2012 award, MEMIC has granted scholarships totaling $90,000.
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 MEMIC’s board of directors.
