SAG-AFTRA Vice President, Small Locals Suzanne Burkhead Receives 2024 Howard Keel Award

SAG-AFTRA Vice President, Small Locals Suzanne Burkhead was named the 2024 recipient of the union’s prestigious Howard Keel Award. The award, created in 2008, is the highest honor given by the SAG-AFTRA Committee of Locals, a forum of the union’s small and mid-sized locals outside Los Angeles and New York.

Burkhead, who is based in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, first began her decades of union service as chair of the Local’s Membership Development Committee. A proponent of the SAG and AFTRA union merger, she later became a representative of the DFW Local on the SAG-AFTRA National Board. Her work was integral in creating the union’s national and local constitutions and developing the Committee of Locals. Drawing from her experiences as a regional commercial actor, she is credited with helping standardize many of the provisions within the union’s regional commercial contracts, including what is known today as the Southern Central Regional Commercials Code.

Since 2019, Burkhead has served three terms as SAG-AFTRA vice president, small locals. She has sat on the Executive, Finance, Commercials Performers, Government Review, Litigation Review, Organizing, and Right to Work Committees, and served on the President’s Task Force for Education, Outreach & Engagement.

The award was presented to Burkhead during the Howard Keel Awards Dinner in Los Angeles on Oct. 21.

“Congratulations to Suzanne on being selected for the Howard Keel Award! She is a complete pleasure to work with, and I've been impressed by her energy and her passion in advocating for our members, who are lucky to have her,” said SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher. “Out of 160,000 members, only a small handful by comparison actually roll up their sleeves and get into the volunteerism essential to make our union great. Suzanne, I applaud you for being one of those intelligent and committed members who sacrifice much for the betterment of all. It has been my great honor to work by your side.”

Howard Keel Award Committee Chair Nancy Duerr said, “Suzanne has been a tenacious advocate for all SAG-AFTRA members, particularly those outside of New York and Los Angeles. She has put in the work through the years, stepping up before and after merger. I’m thrilled this award will let the world know how much Suzanne and her selfless service mean to all of us.”

Added Committee Co-Chair Towanda Underdue, “It’s impossible to quantify the impact that Suzanne has had over her many years of service, whether it’s the countless volunteer hours she’s put in to elevate union members or the ripple effect of all those she’s inspired, both directly and in leading by example. But the one thing I know for sure is that SAG-AFTRA is better off for her service. She truly shows what it means to be a union leader.”

“There’s no one more deserving of this award,” said SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. “Suzanne brings it every time she shows up for union service, whether during the SAG-AFTRA merger process or as vice president representing the small locals for many years. Our members are so lucky to have her vision, dedication and leadership in their corner.”

Photo: SAG-AFTRA Vice President, Small Locals Suzanne Burkhead, center, with National Board members and Howard Keel Award Committee Co-Chairs Nancy Duerr and Towanda Underdue.