TN Highway Patrol Promotes 11

NASHVILLE --- The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security promoted 11 members of the state’s Highway Patrol in a Wednesday morning ceremony at the department’s Training Center in Nashville.  Rank advancements were presented to the following individuals:

 

Wayne Springer was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel over Field Operations.   Since 2006, Lieutenant Colonel Springer has served as Major over the Field Operations West Bureau. Springer began his service in state government in March 1982 as a Communications Operator in the Lawrenceburg District, where he worked more than two years before being commissioned as a State Trooper in 1984. He worked the road as a State Trooper in Giles and Lawrence Counties until his promotion to Sergeant in May 1989.   After working as Sergeant in Lawrence County for eight years, Springer was promoted to Lieutenant within the District 7 Lawrenceburg Headquarters in 1997 and served in that capacity for more than eight years. In 2005, Springer was promoted to Captain over the Lawrenceburg District. Lieutenant Colonel Springer has expertise in Traffic Crash Reconstruction and specialized training in Traffic Services Management and Records.  Springer currently resides in Loretto, Tenn., with his wife, Deborah, of 36 years. The couple has three children, Heath, Timothy, and Kimberly, and five grandchildren. 

 

Rex Prince has been promoted to Majorover the Field Operations West Bureau, replacing Wayne Springer who was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel over Field Operations.  Since September 2010, Prince has served as the Director of the Criminal Investigations Division (CID), headquartered in Nashville. Prior to his appointment as CID Director, Prince served as Captain of both the Chattanooga District and the Nashville District.   Prince began his career with the Highway Patrol in 1978 and served as a Road Trooper in all 12 counties of the Nashville District. Prior to his promotion to Captain, Prince served as Lieutenant in charge of the Ordinance Section from 1996 to 2007. From 1988 to 1992, he served THP Special Operations as a SWAT sniper, K-9 handler, diver and motorcycle patrolman. Prince was also a member of the National Guard, serving 31 years before retiring from the Guard in 2006. Major Prince is a 1975 graduate of Camden High School and attended Volunteer State Community college. He is married and has two sons and three granddaughters. He is a native of Camden, Tennessee.    

 

John H. Albertson III was promoted to Director of the Special Investigations Bureau, replacing Rex Prince who was promoted to Major over the Field Operations West Bureau. Albertson has served as Lieutenant and Statewide Commander over the Critical Incident Response Team (C.I.R.T.) since 2006. Prior to his promotion as CIRT Commander, Albertson worked as a CIRT Team Leader and Sergeant in District 3 Nashville and District 7 Lawrenceburg from 2001 to 2006. Prior to working as a CIRT investigator, Albertson served as a Road Trooper in Wilson and Rutherford Counties from 1987 to 2001, including two special assignments for CID. Since 2003, he has served as an instructor in crash investigations for the THP Training Center. Albertson began his law enforcement career as a patrolman for the Rockwood Police Department from 1986 to 1987. He is a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command and a 2010 graduate of the University of Tennessee National Forensic Academy. Albertson is a graduate of Roane State Community College with an Associate’s Degree of Science in Criminal Justice. He is currently attending Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies. Albertson and his wife, Tammy, have three children and they live in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.     

 

Tim Dover has been promoted to Captain over the Logistics Division headquartered in Nashville, replacing Robert W. Brown who is retiring after 33 years of service with the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Since 2009, Dover has served as the Emergency Services Coordinator assigned to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA). Dover began his career with the Tennessee Highway Patrol as a Road Trooper in 1989, serving Cheatham County until his transfer to the Planning and Research Division where he helped design the Tennessee Uniform Scannable Crash Report. In 2002, he was promoted to Sergeant of the Crash Records Section and a year later transferred to the Executive Protection Detail where he was promoted to Lieutenant in 2006. From 2007 to 2008, Dover served as the District 3 Nashville Communications Supervisor. Captain Dover and his wife, Jennifer, have one child. They live in Dickson, Tennessee. 

 

Mark Proctor has advanced to the rank of Lieutenant with the Executive and Protective Services unit. Lt. Proctor was a 1997 graduate of the Tennessee Highway Patrol Academy and was first stationed as a Road Trooper in Dyer County. After completing a one-year assignment in Dyer, he worked the next three years in Dickson, Humphreys and Cheatham counties. In December 2001, Proctor joined the Governor’s Security Detail, where he worked for six years before being promoted to sergeant. Under Captain Phil Hardin, Lt. Proctor currently oversees the security teams for the Governor and First Lady. Originally from Humphreys County, Lt. Proctor attended McEwen High School and Austin Peay State University, and is a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command. He resides in Nashville.

Robert Bighem, a 24-year veteran of the Tennessee Highway Patrol,has been promoted to Lieutenant in the Training Division. Lt. Bighem has worked as a Road Trooper in both Williamson and Wilson counties; has served as a member of the State Capitol Detail; and has moved up the ranks in the THP Training Center. He was assigned to the Training Center as a Trooper in 1997 and was promoted to Sergeant in March of 2000. Prior to joining the THP, Lt. Bighem served with the Air National Guard for 20 years. Lt. Bighem has received numerous instructor certifications, including Radar, Defensive Tactics, Respectful Workplace, Verbal Judo and Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, to name a few. He is also a 2001 Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command graduate. Lt. Bighem currently lives in Davidson County.  

 

Michael McAlister was promoted to Lieutenant and Statewide Commander over the Critical Incident Response Team (C.I.R.T.), replacing John Albertson who was promoted to Director of the Criminal Investigations Division. McAlister has served as Sergeant over the Nashville and Lawrenceburg Districts in C.I.R.T. since 2006. Prior to his promotion to Sergeant, he served as a Trooper in C.I.R.T. from 2003 to 2006. Before coming to C.I.R.T., McAlister served as a Road Trooper from 1997 to 2003 in Lewis and Maury County. McAlister began his Law Enforcement career as a Police Officer for the city of Pulaski from 1989 to 1997. He is also a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command.

 

Les Dolente has been elevated to Sergeant in the Executive and Protective Services detail. After joining the Highway Patrol in 2004, Sergeant Dolente was assigned to Cumberland County in the Cookeville District. He worked there until September of 2005 and was then transferred to Executive Security in Davidson County. Sgt. Dolente holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Austin Peay State University, and is currently enrolled in a master’s of business administration (MBA) program at Tennessee Tech University. 

 

Allan Brenneis has been promoted to Sergeant with THP’s Critical Incident Response Team (C.I.R.T.). Sgt. Brenneis began his career as a Capitol Policeman with the Department of Safety in1989. Three years later, he was promoted to State Trooper and stationed in Perry County in the Lawrenceburg District. In 1994, Sgt. Brenneis was reassigned to Davidson County, where he worked the road until February of 2001. It was then he was assigned as one of the original members to the Critical Incident Response Team. Sgt. Brenneis is a certified Crash Reconstructionist, DUI Instructor and Radar Instructor. A native of Gulfport, Mississippi, he now resides in Hermitage with his wife, Judith. They have six children and 10 grandchildren.

 

Ronald Meyer was elevated to Assistant Special Agent in Charge in the Criminal Investigations Division (C.I.D.). During his 34-year career, Assistant SAC Meyer has filled numerous roles in the department. He started as an Assistance to Interstate Driver (AID) Trooper in 1977, and went on to serve in the Governor Security detail as both Trooper and Sergeant from 1979 to 1994. In January of 1995, Meyer transferred to Support Services, where he worked until 2000. Over the next seven years, he served as Sergeant in Rutherford County. In October of 2007, Meyer was reassigned to the Criminal Investigations Division’s Polygraph Unit. Meyer, originally from Springfield, Tenn., now lives in Murfreesboro.

 

Harvey Jason Kelley has been promoted to Sergeant with the Special Programs Unit in the Lawrenceburg District. Sgt. Kelley graduated with Trooper Cadet Class 601 in March of 2001, and was first assigned to the Manchester Scales Complex in Coffee County.  In January 2002, he was transferred to a road assignment in Maury County, where he worked until the Highway Patrol and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement merged in July 2004. Sgt. Kelley then served as a Road Trooper in Giles County until September 2007, when he began with the Special Programs unit. In addition to being a Field Training Officer, Sgt. Kelley is a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Level 1 certified inspector, and has been Haz-mat Cargo tank, Level 6 Radioactive Material, and CMV post-crash certified. He is married with two children. They reside in Maury County.