Congratulations to FAIR Board member, Melissa Burt DeVriese! She was recognized with a 40 Under 40 award by the Daytona Beach News-Journal as one of Volusia County’s outstanding young professionals. Melissa is the Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Legal Counsel of Security First Insurance.
DeVriese is dedicated to helping those in need
NAME: Melissa Burt DeVriese
AGE: 39
OCCUPATION: Chief administrative officer and general counsel, Security First Insurance, Ormond Beach
PAST JOBS: Primary attorney to the General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Transportation; legal counsel to U.S. Rep. Sam Graves; associate attorney at Foley & Lardner LLP
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT:
Board member, Volusia Young Professionals Group, Easter Seals; past-president, Junior League of Daytona Beach
WHAT MAKES HER TICK: “I enjoy helping people and my job allows me to do this,” says DeVriese. “An integral role of insurance companies is to help people return to normal after suffering a loss. In our case,that loss could be the result of a burglary, fire, or natural disaster such as a hurricane. Iplay many roles as chief administrative officer for such a fast-growing company. Oneof these vital responsibilities is obtaining additional financing and entering into catastrophe bond, which are essential to ensuring that Security First Insurance can respond to customers and stay in business.
By acquiring this funding, we are ensuring that we can be there to assist the 350,000 families that have entrusted us with providing homeowner’s insurance on their home as well as providing good paying careers for over 230 employees in our community.
We are experiencing rapid growth and added 60 new positions last year alone.
I am able to work with our management team to ensure our employees have a pleasant work environment, feel appreciated, and that wemaintain a close, family-run organizational feel even as we continue to grow.”
FUN FACT: In listing her past jobs, DeVriese says, “The one job that usually surprises people the most is that I spent summers in high school and college as a Volusia County ocean lifeguard.”
WHAT OTHERS SAY:
“(DeVriese) is a true asset to our community and is handling the overseeing of obtaining a new $75 million catastrophe bond, as well as securing over $60 million in funding over the past year, the building of the company’s new facility, and other important transactions,” says Kelly Chanfrau, a local attorney with Chanfrau & Chanfrau.
“Her employees and staff love her.”
Source: Daytona Beach News Journal
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