Annual Board of Directors Elections Feature Selection of Chair and Vice Chair

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During SEARCH's annual Membership Group meeting held July 16-19, 2012, in Cincinnati, Ohio, SEARCH Members held elections for the Board of Directors, including elections for the offices of Chairman and Vice Chairman.

Francis X. (Paco) Aumand III

Brad Truitt

Mr. Francis X. (Paco) Aumand III, Director, Criminal Justice Services, Vermont Department of Public Safety, was elected to a new two-year term as Chairman of the SEARCH Membership Group. Mr. Aumand previously served as SEARCH Chair from 2004-2010. He has been the Vermont representative to the Membership Group since 1996, and in 2011 was recognized by his Membership Group colleagues with the Gary R. Cooper Meritorious Service Award.

"I am honored and humbled to have been elected for the second time as Chair of this organization," he said.

Mr. Aumand replaces Captain Thomas W. Turner, Division Commander, Criminal Justice Information Services, Virginia State Police, who has served as SEARCH Chair since 2010. Capt. Turner declined to seek re-election as Chair.

Mr. Brad Truitt, Director of Information Systems, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, was re-elected to a new, 2-year term as Vice Chairman of SEARCH. He has served as SEARCH Vice Chair since 2010, and has served on the Board for 6 years. Mr. Truitt has been SEARCH's Tennessee representative to the Membership Group since 2004.

Newly elected Board members are:

Dr. Natalie Chrastil
Deputy Director of CJIS
Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation

Ms. Dawn Peck
Manager
Bureau of Criminal Identification
Idaho State Police

Mr. Oded Galili
Deputy Director
Minnesota Justice Information Services
Bureau of Criminal Apprehension

State and At-Large Members re-elected to a second term are:

Dr. Alfred Blumstein
J. Erik Jonsson Professor
Urban Systems and Operations
H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management
Carnegie-Mellon University

Ms. Terry D. Gibbons
Deputy Director
Georgia Bureau of Investigation
Georgia Crime Information Center

Ms. Liane Moriyama
Administrator
Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center
Department of the Attorney General

Continuing to serve on the Board (with one year remaining on their terms) are these State and At-Large Members:

Mr. David Jobes Assistant Director Division of Criminal Investigation Iowa Department of Public Safety	Maj. Douglas Shelton Records Division Indiana State Police	Mr. David Steingraber Senior Policy Advisor National Criminal Justice Association
Ms. Judy Volk Information Services Manager Bureau of Criminal investigation North Dakota Office of Attorney General	Mr. Robert Wessels Vice Chair Judicial Committee on Information Technology State of Texas	Col. Robert Williams Chief Maine State Police

Q&A with SEARCH Chairman Francis Aumand III

What challenges ahead do you see facing SEARCH, or the justice/public safety community?
The technology and criminal justice public policy issues facing the justice community in light of the continued shrinking federal grant programs are real both to SEARCH as an organization and the justice community as a whole. SEARCH's challenge in the future is making sure that it defines itself in a way that meets the needs of the Membership and that it is seen as the voice of the states with regard to justice information sharing initiatives and individual identifying records.

What would you like to accomplish in your coming term as Chair?
During my term as Chair I would like to see that the Board continues its governing style that allows for participation and speaking with one voice. I also would like to see the Membership be engaged in discussions that define and/or redefine the reasons the organization exists. I think there are significant challenges ahead of us regarding justice information sharing initiatives and the use of the criminal history record. As an organization, we need to be properly poised to be a strong voice in answering the difficult questions surrounding the use of records and the continued policy issues surrounding integrating different databases.