Katie Winchester, the first woman to serve as chairman of Baptist’s Corporate Board of Directors and System Board of Trustees, passed away suddenly on Tuesday morning.
A Dyer County native, Winchester served on Baptist’s boards for more than a decade and was a proud supporter of many Baptist programs and initiatives. She became a member of the System Board of Trustees in 2002 and joined the Corporate Board of Directors the following year. She also served on the quality committee and finance committee for the Corporate Board, as well as the Executive Committee for the System Board.
Winchester enjoyed a long career with First Citizens National Bank, a $1.6 billion, community, shareholder-owned commercial bank with 24 locations in nine Tennessee counties and 50 percent ownership in a general insurance agency. She served as the bank’s Chairman Emeritus, Chairman, President and CEO.
She was also deeply involved in financial and community organizations, serving as chairperson of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and the Commission’s Audit Committee. She also was the first woman to sit on the Federal Advisory Council for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., and the Tennessee Bankers Association’s Board of Directors.
In addition, she chaired the Dyersburg/Dyer County Chamber of Commerce; University of Tennessee at Martin Dunagan Chair of Banking; Tennessee State Advisory Board, Division of Rehabilitation Services; Dyersburg State Community College Foundation Board and the foundation’s Annual Fund Campaign; United Way of West Tennessee; United Way of Dyer County, Tenn.; and the Dyer County Chapter of the American Red Cross.
She served on the University of Tennessee Development Council, Knoxville and Martin campuses; Tennessee Economic Growth Board; American Bankers Association Community Banker’s Council; Dyersburg/Dyer County YMCA Board of Directors; and the Dyersburg Kiwanis Club.
Winchester is a graduate of the Professional Master of Banking Graduate School at Louisiana State University/Alex Sheshunoff Management Services, Inc., and has won many awards during her lifetime.
She was the first woman the Tennessee Bankers Association recognized as a “Leader in Banking Excellence,” and was twice named Dyersburg/Dyer County’s Woman of the Year. She received the Tennessee Hospital Association’s Meritorious Service Award; the Governor’s Volunteer Star Award for Dyer County, Tenn.; and the Tennessee Council for Resource Development Pinnacle Award for service to Dyersburg State Community College. The CABLE Board Walk of Fame selected her as an honoree twice. The Board Walk of Fame honors women corporate directors who serve on private or public company boards with revenues of greater than $200 million and/or market cap greater than $200 million. Winchester is permanently featured in the “Virtual Walk of Fame” located in the Axel Swang Center for Business Administration at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn.
She is survived by her husband, Alton Winchester; one son, Anthony Lee “Tony” Winchester; one sister; and two brothers.