2021 Vermont Impaired Driving Summit & VHSA Annual Meeting
Wednesday, October 20th, 2021
Killington, VT
Register here.
Agenda
7:45 Registration Opens
7:45 Meet and Greet with Attendees and Vendors Continental Breakfast
8:30 Honor Guard Ceremony
8:40 Welcome | Opening Remarks
• Lt. Kevin Geno, Chair, Vermont Highway Safety Alliance
• Sgt. Jay Riggen, Vermont State Police
9:00 Keynote: Drugged Driving—A Problem for Everyone
• Joanne Thomka, Director, National Traffic Law Center, National District Attorneys Association
10:00 Break / Visit the Vendors
10:15 An Ever-Changing Landscape: Evaluating DUI Drug Trends in Vermont and Exploring Oral Fluid
Testing on the National Level
• Jeffery Dukette, Forensic Chemist, Toxicology Section, Vermont Forensic Lab
• Amy Miles, Director, Forensic Toxicology Program, Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene
11:15 Arrest to Restoration
• Carol Plante and Karen Dolan, Vermont Safe Driver Program
12:15 Begin Lunch Buffet / Visit the Vendors
12:30 Lunch: State Highway Safety Office, VHSA, and VDTSEA Awards
1:15 Mellanby Effect, Impairment, & Homeostasis: Why Impaired Drivers Are Never Safe Behind the
Wheel!
• Tom Heller, Detective, Drug Recognition Expert, Seattle Police Department
2:30 Break / Visit the Vendors
2:45 Not your Grandfather’s DUI: Reconceptualizing the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and Individual
Performance
• Lt. James Roy, Colchester PD
• Steven Brown, Deputy State’s Attorney, Windham County
4:00 Closing Remarks
• Sgt. Jay Riggen, Vermont State Police
For a printable agenda and more information about the speakers, please click here.
For hotel information or to register for the conference, please click here.
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2020 Highway Safety Awards:
The Fletcher Brush Educational Outreach Award
This award is presented to an individual or organization for outstanding educational outreach in the promotion of highway safety priorities for Vermont citizens. This annual award honors Fletcher “Buster” Brush, who exemplified the notion of “service above self.”
Winner: Lindsay Townsend, Vermont Driver and Traffic Safety Association
The Ruby Rainault Occupant Protection Award
This award is presented to an individual or organization that has demonstrated commitment to education, enforcement, and community engagement in helping to increase occupant protection use. Late Deputy Sheriff Ruby Rainault was killed in the line of duty in 2003 while on patrol conducting Occupant Protection safety checks. This award is given in her name to a law enforcement officer who best emulates Ruby’s willingness to “do what it takes to help.”
Winner: Lt. Allen Fortin, Chittenden County Sheriff’s Department
The Impaired Driving Prevention and Enforcement Award
This award is presented to an individual who has demonstrated commitment to Education, Enforcement and Community Engagement to help decrease the incidence of Impaired Driving.
Winner: Steven M. Brown, Esq., Windham County State’s Attorney’s Office
The Drug Recognition Expert Award
This award is presented to an individual member of the DRE Program who has demonstrated a commitment to Education, Enforcement and Community Engagement to help decrease the incidence of Impaired Driving.
Winner: Sgt. Paul Locke, Milton Police Department
The Sergeant Michael Johnson Life Saver Award
Sgt. Michael Johnson was a 16 year veteran of the Vermont State Police when he tragically lost his life in the line of duty on June 15, 2003. Sgt. Johnson was deploying spike strips in an attempt to stop a suspect fleeing Troopers in a motor vehicle when the suspect struck Sgt. Johnson with the vehicle and killed him. This award will be presented to an individual who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to highway safety.
Winner: Deputy First Class Michael Roj, Windham County Sheriff’s Office
The Rising Star Award
This new award is presented to an officer in the first five years of their career who has shown exemplary work and passion for traffic law enforcement, while demonstrating teamwork and strong support for fellow officers and the community. This year VTrans selected two award winners.
Winners: Trooper Paul Pennoyer, Vermont State Police
Sgt. Thomas “TJ” Howard, Vermont State Police
The Highway Safety Achievement Award
This award is presented to an officer who has shown a lifetime of exemplary work and passion for highway safety, while demonstrating teamwork and strong support for their fellow officers and community, over the course of their career. This year VTrans selected two award winners.
Winners: Colonel William “Jake” Elovirta, Vermont Agency of Transportation DMV
Chief Paul Doucette, Bennington Police Department
