Captain Juan Villanueva, commanding officer of Troop D, Springfield, announces effective May 1, 2011, Sergeant Jason M. Pace will assume duties as a public information and education officer for Troop D. He will be one of two public information officers assigned to the 18-county Troop D region.
Pace was born in Rolla, Missouri, and in 1989, graduated from Houston High School, Houston, Missouri. In 1993, he graduated from Harding University, Searcy, Arkansas, with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and in 1995, graduated from Missouri State University, Springfield, with a master’s degree in public administration.
Pace was appointed to the Patrol on July 1, 1997, as a member of the 74th Recruit Class. Upon graduating from the Patrol’s Law Enforcement Academy in Jefferson City, he was assigned to Troop I, serving in Laclede County.
In 2001, he transferred to Troop D, Zone 1, Greene County, and in 2004, he was assigned as a full-time recruiter for the Patrol, based out of Troop D. While in that assignment he was promoted to the rank of corporal in 2005 and to the rank of sergeant in 2008.
Sergeant Pace and his wife, Jennifer (Decker), are the proud parents of three children: Blake, Brooke, and Blair. He is the son of retired Patrol Major Mike and Diana Pace, of West Plains.
