Barry Marcus, Trooper, Washington State Patrol; 2025 Winner of the AAMVA Lifetime Achievement Award in Law Enforcement

How did your career get its start?

In 1991, I went on a ride-along with a family friend who was a 20-plus-year trooper. I was impressed with how he handled himself throughout the night while trying to locate a drunk driver. Eventually, we stopped a guy who had been drinking. I watched as field sobriety tests were administered, and he was arrested for DUI. Afterward, I told my wife that I felt being a trooper was the career I was interested in pursuing.

What are your proudest career accomplishments?

In the Spokane region, I’ve worked with many hard-working, talented people. I have been fortunate enough to be selected from that group as Trooper of the Year on multiple occasions. I consider that an honor because of the quality of the people I work with. Working with District 4 command staff to start the DUI Squad was one of the highlights of my career.

What has your AAMVA involvement meant to you?

AAMVA’s hard work and policies that impact drunk and drugged driving go hand in hand with the work I do nightly. Their continued effort to make the roads safe and hold drivers accountable on the road is commendable.

What does receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award mean to you?

It validates the work I have done over the last 34 years. The majority of my time has been spent in DUI enforcement. I’ve tried my best to treat people with the respect they deserve while enforcing the law. It’s a great honor to receive this award for doing a job that I truly believe in.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I am an avid hunter and fisher. I’ve enjoyed training my own German shorthaired pointers to bird hunt. I love to travel and cruise with my wife of 41 years; Caribbean cruises are our favorite. And I enjoy summer fun in our pool with our four grandsons and extended family.

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Lyne Vézina, General Manager of Road Safety Research and Development at Societe de l’Assurance Automobile du Quebec; 2025 Winner of the AAMVA Lifetime Achievement Award in Motor Vehicle Administration

How did your career get its start?

I joined the ranks of the Société de l’Assurance Automobile du Québec in 1987 as a statistician. My first mandates involved the implementation of roadside surveys to observe the behavior of road users and the production and analysis of road safety statistical data. That quickly led me to develop and propose strategies to improve road safety. The team I now lead is responsible for the development of road safety knowledge, legislative and regulatory guidelines, and road safety strategies and partnerships.

What are your proudest career accomplishments?

The work I have done in identifying high-risk drivers by scouring scientific literature has allowed me to expand my knowledge and propose effective strategies based on best practices to engender better behaviors on the roads. This allowed me to influence my authorities and decision-makers by presenting legislative and regulatory measures based on scientific knowledge.

What safety initiatives have been most memorable?

Over the years, our approach to impaired driving prevention and follow-up of offenders has evolved significantly to identify early offenders with the potential to reoffend and to subject those with a blood alcohol concentration well above the legal limit to more severe penalties. We believe that these measures have contributed to reducing the recidivism rate, which fell from 32% to 18% between 2003 and 2021.

What does receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award mean to you?

If I have contributed through my work to improve the road safety record and ensure that fewer people suffer injuries or die from them, that is a reward in itself. But being recognized by my peers is the icing on the cake. However, it is important for me to remember that all of this has been possible thanks to the work of the people who have gone before me and the people who have accompanied me throughout my career.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I like to garden, go for walks and ride my bicycle. I take every opportunity to escape into nature and enjoy the wide-open spaces that surround us, whether it’s hiking, fishing or snowshoeing in the winter.