Contact: Maridith Geuder
Mike Lightsey
A veteran administrator with the Mississippi Alcohol Safety Education Program is the first president of an organization working to reduce the number of impaired drivers on American highways.
Michael L. Lightsey, MASEP's operations coordinator, will lead the newly formed National Organization of State-Impaired Driving Programs Inc., which currently represents nearly 20 states from Maine to Florida to Oklahoma, and including Alaska.
Established in 1972 and based at Mississippi State University, MASEP is the statewide driver improvement program for first-time offenders convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol or other substances. It operates under the authority of the state implied consent law.
Lightsey is in his 18th year with MASEP, a unit of MSU's Social Science Research Center. A Bay Springs native, he holds bachelor's and master's degrees in sociology from MSU.
The new national organization came into existence last month when Lightsey and other members of the Southeastern Regional DUI Offender System Conference voted at their 15th annual meeting to expand the mission and rename the body to reflect the change.
As it did within the Southeast, the national group provides a forum for discussion among representatives of state agency professionals who work daily with DUI offenders. It also continues to promote research, training and evaluation programs.
"A national organization was needed to help program administrators work with colleagues in other states outside the region," Lightsey said. "It also will provide a much-needed avenue for expanding information-sharing about effective DUI countermeasures."
Lightsey is active in several other related organizations, including the Mississippi Association of Highway Safety Leaders.