TAMPA, Florida – Michael Bourque, president and chief executive officer of The MEMIC Group, announced that all employees of the specialty workers’ compensation insurance company may each direct $100 to a 501c3 charity “that captures their hearts” as part of the kick-off to the company’s 25th anniversary.

Bourque made the announcement Friday evening at the company’s year-end holiday celebration. MEMIC employs more than 400 people from Maine to Florida.

“MEMIC has a long tradition of community engagement but we don’t necessarily know what is personally important to each employee such as education, fighting hunger, improving health, sheltering pets or providing housing. As we complete another successful year, we thought this idea would be a great way for our employees to mark the beginning of our 25th anniversary by contributing to organizations and programs that capture their hearts,” said Bourque.

According to Bourque, the response among employees already has been terrific, already employees have chosen to give to a diverse range of local charities from Shiners Hospital for Children in Tampa to The Pixel Fund in Geneva.

MEMIC was created with a social mission to fix Maine’s broken workers’ comp system and reduce costs through focusing on safety to prevent injuries and compassionate care for injured workers so they can recover and return to work. Within five short years of its formation in 1993, loss time injuries were reduced by 30% and insurance costs were cut in half in Maine. MEMIC is now one of the fastest growing workers’ comp companies in the country with more than a billion dollars in assets and offices across the Eastern Seaboard. With this year’s record-breaking $21 million dividend, MEMIC has returned more than $240 million to policyholders since 1998.