Miss Tennessee 2017 Caty Davis has been added to the list of distinguished speakers at the 2018 Tennessee Workers' Compensation Education Conference taking place this June in Murfreesboro.

Davis will take part in a panel discussion about the opioid crisis in Tennessee. The group will explore possible ways to deal with the current crisis, focusing on how opioids impact workers' compensation health care.

"Caty has used her time as Miss Tennessee to put a spotlight on the opioid crisis in the state," said Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) Administrator Abbie Hudgens. "In a short amount of time Caty has become a champion in the battle against opioid addiction in Tennessee and she will bring a unique perspective to the panel discussion."

For the past four years, Davis has been dedicated to promoting awareness and fundraising for substance abuse prevention and treatment across the state. Governor Bill Haslam made Davis his official spokesperson for character education and she travels across Tennessee speaking to tens of thousands of school children. She also holds the position of national spokesperson for the group Facing Addiction. Davis is currently the spokesperson for Blue Cross Blue Shield's Count it! Lock it! Drop it! Campaign for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

The opioid crisis has personally affected Davis over the years. Her family has been plagued by multi-generational addiction to alcohol and opioids, and she has twelve family members who have battled or are currently struggling with addiction.

The panel discussion will take place during the Tennessee Workers' Compensation Education Conference on Friday, June 8, 2018, at the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro. The three-day event runs through June 8 and brings workers' compensation experts from across the country to Tennessee to share their best practices and experiences.

"Each year we have the opportunity to learn from some of the brightest in the workers' compensation field," Hudgens said. "The information we take away from the conference plays a big role in helping Tennessee have one of the most progressive workers' compensation programs in the country."

The conference is sponsored by the Tennessee BWC, in association with the International Workers' Compensation Foundation (IWCF), a non-profit corporation dedicated to workers' compensation research and education. The goal of this conference is to educate those who participate in the Tennessee workers' compensation system, regarding current and pending rules, procedures, policies and forms and to provide an opportunity for dialogue among these participants.