Van Godsey served as the LEIU General Chairman from May 2010 until May 2020.  He was the Vice General Chairman from October 2009 until May 2010 and the Central Zone Vice Chairman from November 2006 until October 2009. In 1986, Mr. Godsey graduated from the Tennessee Law Enforcement Academy as the president of his graduation class.  For the next 4 years he worked as a police officer in Southeast Tennessee. In 1990, Mr. Godsey worked at the Missouri Attorney General’s Office in the special prosecution unit. Over the next 5 years he worked specifically on homicide prosecutions where the state was seeking the death penalty.  Mr. Godsey left the Attorney General’s Office in 1995 as the Chief Criminal Investigator and assumed the role of Violent Crime Support Unit Supervisor at the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP).  In 1998, the MSHP combined the Violent Crime Support Unit and the Criminal Intelligence/Crime Analysis Unit and Mr. Godsey was promoted to the supervisor of both units. Over the next 7 years, he supervised the Criminal Intelligence/Crime Analysis unit and was involved in several information and intelligence sharing initiatives.  Some of these efforts include the Missouri Statewide Police Intelligence Network (MoSPIN), the Midwest HIDTA, the National Virtual Pointer System (NVPS) and many others.  Mr. Godsey served as the Director of the Missouri Information Analysis Center "MIAC"--the State of Missouri's "Fusion Center" from 2005-2009.  In 2009, Mr. Godsey was appointed to Assistant Director of the Division of Drug and Crime Control at MSHP.  In 2020, Mr. Godsey retired from MSHP and became the Drug Intelligence Officer for Midwest HIDTA.  He remains an ardent supporter and advisor to the LEIU executive board.