Co-op News
Co-ops Fare Well at Rodeo
A lot of experienced hands were on call in Bonner Springs, Kan., in mid-October, even though there was no power emergency with which to cope.
Some 500 linemen, representing co-ops, munis and IOUs, were part of the 26th Annual International Lineman’s Rodeo, a competition in which workers display and refine the skills they employ on the job every day.
Sean Dixon (left) and Kevin Houston of Rappahannock Electric Co-op show their skills. (Photo By: Rappahannock Electric Co-op)
Sean Dixon and Kevin Houston of Rappahannock Electric Co-op, Fredericksburg, Va., were among those at work atop a 40-foot-tall utility pole as part of the rodeo, which included events such as a hurt man rescue, a pole climb and a written test.
The rodeo consisted of team and individual competitions, and co-ops fared very well.
In the apprentice competition, Bradley McCallister of Walton EMC, Monroe, Ga., was first among 215 entrants in the hurt man rescue and finished second in the bad insulator replacement event.
His teammate Ryan West finished first overall among 32 apprentice competitors from co-ops. In the journeyman category, Eugene Neeley, Miles Shumaker and Brad Wiglesworth, Blue Grass Energy, Nicholasville, Ky., were second among 153 teams in replacing a lighting arrestor.
Chris Harper, Byron Burke and Melvin Brake of Snapping Shoals EMC, Covington, Ga., finished first overall among the 23 co-op teams.
Tags: Co-op News, Lineworkers