The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) transitioned to its new leadership for the 2014-2015 term on Sept. 17, 2014, at the Alliance’s 2014 Annual Conference & Exhibition in Buffalo, New York.

Captain William “Bill” Reese from the Idaho State Police is the new President of the Alliance. Major Jay Thompson of the Arkansas Highway Police is CVSA’s Vice President. Julius Debuschewitz of Yukon Highways and Public Works was elected by the membership to the position of CVSA Secretary. Sergeant Thomas Fuller of the New York State Police is now the Alliance’s immediate Past-President.

“I am honored to represent CVSA as the President. I will work diligently to continue the Alliance’s mission of improving commercial vehicle safety and security across North America,” said Capt. Reese. “My goals for the next year are to build stronger relationships so we can have a synergistic affect in the legislative and rulemaking arenas, and use our influence and credibility to have a positive impact on new legislation that affects highway safety and interstate commerce. I also plan to continue the work started by prior CVSA Presidents.”

CVSA President Capt. Reese has been with the Idaho State Police since 1986. After serving as the CVS Sergeant and Lieutenant, he was promoted to Captain in 2010. As Division Commander, Capt. Reese is responsible for Idaho’s commercial vehicle safety and hazardous materials inspection and response programs. From 1995-2003, he also served as an associate staff member of the FMCSA National Training Center. He previously served as Chair of CVSA’s COHMED and Level VI programs. Capt. Reese served as CVSA’s Vice President in 2013-2014.

CVSA Vice President Maj. Jay Thompson has been a law enforcement officer in Arkansas for 23 years. His first CVSA experience was in 2003, when he competed in the North American Inspectors Championship (NAIC) and was awarded the John Youngblood Award of Excellence in Columbus, Ohio. He has also served as Region II Chair for COHMED, CVSA Region II President and CVSA Size and Weight Committee Chair.

CVSA Secretary Julius Debuschewitz is Manager of National Safety Code, Transport Services, Highways and Public Works, Government of Yukon, Canada. Debuschewitz has been in the transportation field for 36 years and has worked in commercial vehicle compliance for the Transport Services Branch of Yukon Highways and Public Works for the past 20 years. He is a CVSA NAS Level I Part A and B instructor and a passenger vehicle instructor and serves on the Canadian Education Quality Assurance Team (EQAT), of which he is a founding member. Debuschewitz was also the Vice Chair of NAIC.

Other Leadership Changes
Region II elected Chief Inspector Scott Carnegie of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety to the position of Vice President. Sgt. Scott Hanson of the Idaho State Police now holds the position of Vice President for Region IV.

For Local Members, Ofc. Wes Bement of the Grand Prairie Police Department in Texas is the President. Sgt. Kenneth Hopkins of the Mansfield Police Department in Texas is Vice President. The President of Associate Members is Jason Wing, Manager of Safety Compliance and Training for ABF Freight. The Vice President is David Guess of Usher Transport, Inc.

The Chair of the Hazardous Materials Committee is Sgt. Bradley Wagner of the Nebraska State Patrol. The Vice Chairs are Ofc. Rion Stann of the Pennsylvania State Police and Sgt. Joshua Clements of the California Highway Patrol. The Size and Weight Committee selected F/Sgt. Kenneth R. Snead of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol to the position of Secretary.

CVSA’s Annual Conference & Exhibition
On Sept. 14-18, 2014, CVSA held its Annual Conference and Exhibition in Buffalo, New York. Approximately 600 government officials, enforcement and industry members attended the Annual Conference in an effort to affect meaningful changes in transportation safety.

“CVSA provides opportunities for our members to work together all year long,” said CVSA Executive Director Stephen A. Keppler. “However, these in-person meetings provide an effective and efficient way for key stakeholders to discuss, examine, cooperate and make tremendous strides in furthering CVSA’s mission. That’s exactly why attending the CVSA Annual Conference & Exhibition is so important.”

The general session, which kicked off the Annual Conference, included regulatory updates from the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA), the Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT), and the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The general session also featured a federal roundtable discussion featuring Bill Bronrott, Deputy Administrator, FMCSA; Darren E. Christle, Executive Director, Manitoba Infastructure & Transportation, CCMTA, and Chairman of the CCMTA Standing Committee on Compliance and Regulatory Affairs; and Federico Dominguez Zuloaga, Federal Motor Carrier Administrator, SCT. The roundtable discussion included a series of member-generated topics that were discussed amongst the members of the panel, as well as a Q&A session with the audience.

As one of his last duties as CVSA president, Sgt. Thomas Fuller of the New York State Police gave the coveted CVSA President’s Award to two worthy recipients: Steve Niswander, Vice President of Safety Policy and Regulatory Relations for Groendyke Transport of Enid, Oklahoma, and Francis “Buzzy” France, Administrative Officer III, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Section of the Maryland State Police.

The 2015 CVSA Annual Conference & Exhibition will take place on Sept. 13-17, 2015, at the Boise Center in Boise, Idaho.