Submitted by Gregory Vandenberg ACTAR #368

A transition occurred January 1 that resulted in the end of an era for ACTAR. After twelve years as ACTAR Administrator, Al Baxter pushed his chair away from that desk for the final time December 31. Eager to spend additional time engaged in other activities, Al notified the Governing Board of Directors (GBOD) that it was time to hand over the duties and responsibilities to someone else. Through the GBOD, nominations were sought and ballots were cast in early December and Greg Vandenberg, ACTAR Registration Number 368, took on the duties of Administrator for ACTAR.

The word replaced was carefully excluded from the sentence describing the transition because it will be impossible to replace Al Baxter. Serving his first full year as Administrator in 1997, ACTAR was still in its formative years when Al took over the day-to-day operations. Less than 60 exams had been administered since the first in October 1992 with 614 candidates sitting for examinations. The number of candidates sitting for an exam swelled to more than 1800 during Al’s term. The care and handling of ACTAR candidates took up a good portion of Al’s days. As the point of contact for ACTAR for thousands of individuals and organizations, Al was responsible for making that first impression when speaking with and otherwise interacting with potential candidates and supporters of the commission’s goals and stated purposes

These duties were a good fit for Al. After 25+ years with the Philadelphia Police Department, Al retired at the rank of Lieutenant - Internal Affairs Division in 1996. Al brought with him the experience of spending twenty years as an investigator and supervisor in the Accident Investigation Division. As an adjunct instructor with IPTM since 1992, Al had instructed at several training academies as well. Al also had the experience of authoring several published manuals and newsletter articles concerning motorcycle crash investigation, DWI motorcyclists, and Anti-Lock Brakes for Motorcycles. He is a past president of the National Association of Traffic Accident Reconstructionists and Investigators (NATARI) and serves on the Board of Directors, and is a life member of the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA).

All of these experiences allowed Al to display diplomacy requisite with the position, understand the plight of ACTAR applicants and examination candidates, promote ACTAR at various public events and interact efficiently with the GBOD. Al developed several processes and procedures that will remain in place for years to come. The author is fortunate to be able to inherit Al’s legacy in the form of well established policies and procedures, processes and the partnerships and friendships that Al developed over his decade plus service to the accident reconstruction community as ACTAR Administrator. I join the chorus of voices extending a heartfelt thank you to Al for all he did to make ACTAR what it is today. Al’s contributions will be missed.

Here is a bit of information about the new ACTAR Administrator for those of you that are not yet acquainted with him. Greg Vandenberg has completed 27 years with the Nebraska State Patrol and has nearly 35 total years of law enforcement experience. Serving the last 10 years as a lieutenant in North Platte, Greg shares second-in-command responsibility for a 23-county troop area in westcentral Nebraska.

During his years with the agency, he has served as a traffic accident reconstruction specialist, accident reconstruction coordinator, and field supervisor. Greg is the longest tenured accident reconstructionist with the Nebraska State Patrol having served in that position for 25 years. Greg holds a Professional Instructor certificate from the Nebraska Crime Commission, and similar credentials from the Florida Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Training. He has been instructing collision investigation topics for 22 years, the last fourteen as an adjunct instructor for IPTM. Greg has served as Secretary/Treasurer for the Midwest Association of Technical Accident Investigators for the past ten years after five years service on the association’s Board of Directors.

In April 1993, Greg was the first Nebraska law enforcement officer to be fully accredited as a Traffic Accident Reconstructionist through ACTAR. As an early participant and supporter of the national accreditation process, Greg looks forward to the rewards and challenges commensurate with serving as ACTAR Administrator.

Current statistics for ACTAR affiliations are: Applications Received- 2085; Accredited- 1130; Pending- 144. Please note the new ACTAR contact data:

Greg Vandenberg ACTAR Administrator PO Box 1493 North Platte, NE 69103-1493 1-800-809-3818 email: actaradmin@actar.org