Leadership

Jill Distel

Civilian's Representative

Jill M. Distel, Administrative Assistant III, has been employed by Colorado State Patrol since April 1, 1996. She has served on Board of Directors of ACSPP since July 2004 and a Trustee for CSPFF since February 2006. She has worked in the legal profession as a Legal Assistant for 10 years for a private attorney and the 13th Judicial District Attorney’s office. She also served a five year term on our local school board’s District Accountability Board as well as on the Sterling High School and Sterling Middle School’s Accountability Board and as treasurer and president of Sterling Athletic Booster Club.

Jill is currently a four year member of the Logan County Planning and Zoning Board, four year member of the Logan County Crimestoppers Board serving three years as Treasurer, three year chairperson for St Anthony’s Catholic Church Environmental Committee, and a three year certified Child Passenger Safety Technician including a two year Fit Station Coordinator with CPS Team Colorado.

Jill is married with two grown children and has three wonderful granddaughters.

Ron Prater

Commissioned Officer's Representative

Captain Ron Prater was born and reared in Chicago, Illinois. He currently lives in Silverthorne with his wife Carol. He has three children and one grandchild. He is also a graduate of Bob Jones University and he completed the Northwestern School of Police Staff and Command in 2005.

Captain Prater has been involved with many community organizations and projects in Summit County. He is an instructor with the Colorado State Patrol Life Enrichment Unit. His duty assignments have included time in the Four Corners area and over a decade on the Interstate 70 corridor.

Lynnette Stieb-Sorensen

Communications Officer's Representative

Lynnette Stieb-Sorensen, born and raised in Sterling, Co. The majority of her family still resides in Northeast Colorado, between the Loveland/Fort Collins area and the Sterling/Iliff area.

She began her career in communications in Ogallala, NE. Once she returned to Colorado, she began her career with the Colorado State Patrol in August of 1980, in the Craig Communications Center. At that time, there were still 17 centers across the state. In 1984, she transferred into the Denver Communications Center which was was still on Arkansas Street and only served the metro area. In 1986, whe was promoted to Communications Supervisor and moved back to Craig. In April 1999, Lynnette was promoted to Regional Communications Manager remaining in Craig, until August 2004, when she transferred to the Denver Regional Communications Center.

William "Mark" Holt

Non-Commissioned Officer's Representative

Sergeant Mark Holt joined the ranks of the Colorado State Patrol on September 29, 1991. He is currently a Sergeant in Troop 2-A in Canon City Colorado.

Ken Shiflet

Retired Member's Representative

Sergeant Kenneth W. "Ken" Shiflet, Retired, joined the Colorado State Patrol on 8 June 1959. Upon graduation from the CSP Academy at Lowry Air Force Base, he was assigned duty at Colorado Springs. He was selected to work the National Boy Scout Jamboree held in Colorado Springs in July 1960 and had the honor of escorting President Eisenhower's motorcade from Denver to the Jamboree site at the present South Entrance of the USAFA. On July 1, 1969, he transferred to Montrose for approximately one year and was reassigned to Colorado Springs. Ken was a member of the first Colorado State Patrol SWAT team, trained at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. After graduating from El Paso Community College, Colorado Springs, Ken was selected to attend GORMAC School of Polygraphy and served as Polygraph Examiner for the next 14 years. Ken was promoted to Sergeant on 1 October 1974, assigned to District 3 for duty in Greeley. He served as President of the PPA Board while serving as Non Commissioned Officers Representative from 1976 through 1982. He remained in Greeley through retirement on 26 February 1991. He was selected to serve on the ACSPP Board representing the CSPAA (Colorado State Patrol Alumni Association) in September 2003. He was reelected to the Board in September 2006.

Lloyd "Rich" Smith

Special Services Representative

Rich Smith is a Trooper assigned to the Rubicon Team of the Office of Preparedness and Security. He has served 16 years in public safety as an Emergency Medical Technician, Emergency Manager and as a Colorado State Trooper. Rich is also an instructor for both the Alive at 25 and Attitudinal Dynamics of Driving Programs.

Dan Musgrave

District I Representative

Trooper Musgrave has been employed by the Colorado State Patrol since June 30, 2005. He was elected Class President while in basic training and led his class in taking on a very special project. In conjunction with the Academy staff, they were able to coordinate donations from local companies, and then design and construct the water feature that is currently in front of the Academy located next to the Colorado Law Enforcement Memorial.

After graduation from the Academy, he was assigned to the Castle Rock Troop Office, 1-C. He became the Team 2 Range Officer and was nominated for the Heat Hero award in 2007 for the number of arrests he made for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and/or Drugs. In April of 2007, he took over as the District 1 Representative for the Association replacing Scott Elliott who was promoted and moved to District III. In May 2007, Trooper Musgrave was accepted as a member of the Accident Reconstruction Team in Troop 1-D in Adams County, Colorado.

Randy Novotny

District II Representative

Corporal Randy Novotny has been a member of the Colorado State Patrol since 1983. He has worked in the Colorado Springs area since graduating from the Academy. He was one of only four Troopers selected to participate in the National Pilot Program for the Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) training developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Randy also participated in the Community Policing Consortium and was an original member of the Colorado State Patrol Selections Team.

He has also been very active in community organizations including Mothers Againist Drunk Driving (MADD), local Neighborhood Watch Programs, and the Drive Smart program in Colorado Springs.

Lance Paa

District III Representative

Trooper Lance Paa joined the Colorado State Patrol on July 2, 1999. After graduation from the Colorado State Patrol Academy, he was assigned to Troop 3-C in Ft. Collins, Colorado, where he remains as of this date.

Since January of 2006, Lance has served as the President of the Colorado State Patrol Family Foundtion.

Larry Graves

District IV Representative

Trooper Larry Graves joined the Colorado State Patrol January 8, 1996. He is currently assigned to Troop 4-C and resides in Avon, Colorado.

Benjamin C. Nicholson

District V Representative

Trooper Ben Nicholson grew up around Mosca, Colorado, some 13 miles north of Alamosa. He graduated from Adams State Collete in 1998. In January of 2000, Ben joined the Colorado State Patrol and after graduation from the Academy, he was assigned to the Colorado State Patrol post in South Fork, Colorado, where he continues to reside with his wife and three children.

J.R. Greninger

District VI Representative

J.R. Greninger began his career with the Colorado State Patrol on July 16, 2001. He currently serves as a Corporal in Troop 6-A in Golden, Colorado.

Lonnie J. Westphal

Executive Director

Lonnie J. Westphal was a member of the Colorado State Patrol for 29 years and retired in 2003 after serving as the Chief for the last 8 years of his career. He has a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Colorado State University, a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the University of Denver, and served in the U.S. Navy as a Romanian linguist at the National Security Agency. He attended the Program for Senior Executives in State & Local Government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, the Police Executive Institute at the FBI Academy, and was a Board Member of the National Commission Against Drunk Driving. He is also a former Vice President of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and is currently a member of the Advisory Board for The Century Council, an organization funded by the major distillers of America that strives to reduce underage drinking and drunk driving.

As of June of 2006, Lonnie Westphal took over as the Executive Director of the Association of Colorado State Patrol Professionals and the Colorado State Patrol Family Foundation, which includes management of the Alive at 25 program. He has been married to his wife, Annette, for 40 years, has two grown children and two grandchildren.