The Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation is on the lookout for individuals who have made significant contributions to the state's workers' compensation system, as it opens the door for nominations for the Sue Ann Head Award for Excellence in Workers' Compensation. The award, named after a former bureau administrator, honors Tennessee's most dedicated and impactful professionals within the workers' compensation realm.
Criteria for nomination require candidates to have a minimum of five years of involvement in the Tennessee workers' compensation system, spanning across various roles such as employers, employee representatives, service providers, claims professionals, medical providers, and those in the legal profession. Nominations are not exclusive to one-off achievements but also acknowledge a career's worth of positive contribution. A panel unrelated to the bureau, consisting of industry experts, will evaluate the nominations, as reported by the Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation.
The bureau aims to identify individuals whose work epitomizes its mission to minimize the impact of work-related injuries through processes that are fair, efficient, and accessible. Nonetheless, if an adequate number of qualified nominations are not received by March 1, 2025, the consideration of applicants may be deferred to the following year. This ensures the award maintains its prestige by honoring only the most deserving of candidates.
Previous recipients of this prestigious award include figures like Kitty Boyte, a partner at Peterson White, LLP, and Bob Pitts, a senior policy adviser with the Associated Builders and Contractors of Greater Tennessee. Others who have had this honor bestowed upon them are Jody Barnes, field case manager at Sedgwick, Shirley Vincent, owner of Guardian Medical Consulting, LLC, and Terry Hill, partner at Manier & Herod. To nominate an individual for this year's award, interested parties can visit the bureau's website and fill out the nomination form, as mentioned in the Bureau's newsroom.
