Kitty Boyte receives the Sue Ann Head Workers' Compensation Award

The Bureau announced Katherine "Kitty" Boyte as the 5th recipient of the Sue Ann Head Award for Excellence in Workers' Compensation. The award was presented to Ms. Boyte at a lunch ceremony during the Tennessee Workers' Compensation Educational Conference on June 15, 2023 in Murfreesboro.

Administrator Haley welcomed Kitty to the stage where she shared this memory of Sue Ann Head with the audience:

"I first met Sue Ann Head in 1986—before I really knew what workers' compensation was—when she came to speak to my law school class about workers' compensation. The first thing I noticed about Sue Ann was what I noticed about her every single time I saw her, even when her health was robbing her of life, her smile. Sue Ann always smiled and I wanted that for myself. No matter what I was doing, how hard it was, how mad I was, I saw Sue Ann smile when she was gritting her teeth under that smile. And that's something I think we can all learn. No matter what, this world and everybody in it needs our smile."

Thank you, Kitty, for sharing Sue Ann's smile.

Ms. Boyte is a partner at Peterson White, LLP in Brentwood, Tennessee and has practiced law almost exclusively in the realm of workers’ compensation since 1988. She is a frequent speaker and contributor in the workers' compensation industry.

At the luncheon, the other two finalists, David Dunaway, attorney at Rick A. Owens Law Offices, and Chelsey Searcy, Safety Program & Workers’ Compensation Manager at Davidson Transit Organization (WeGo Public Transit), were also recognized in a video that was shown right before the award recipient was announced. 

The Sue Ann Head Award for Excellence in Workers' Compensation is an award presented by the Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation to honor workers' compensation professionals who have or are currently making a lasting, positive impact on Tennessee’s workers’ compensation system.