• Born in Gainesville, Florida.

• Married for 24 years to his wife, Shian, who also works for Gainesville Regional Utilities.

• Working on his 80-acre farm is his favorite hobby outside of work. He also enjoys hunting.

• Is the first person in his family to work in the utility industry.

• Describes himself as dependable, trusting, caring and fair minded.

Early Years

I started in the line clearance, or vegetation, industry after I earned my associate's degree in forestry. I worked for a contract tree crew doing power-line trimming for a local cooperative. From that point on, I became interested in the power industry and took a job as a groundman with Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU). I entered the apprentice training program as a groundman doing general ground work for the line crews.

Camaraderie

John Tisdale, our former T&D manager, was my favorite boss, because he allowed me to do my job without being micro-managed. My favorite co-worker is Bobby Cox. When we worked together, I always knew he had my back. We worked well together and depended on each other in our job. We got a lot accomplished because we trusted each other's work.

A Day in the Life

My typical day now as acting T&D manager is a lot different than it used to be. I now am responsible for about 70 employees. It's a full-time job to try to keep T&D on the right track while being productive. I try to stay very interactive with our crews. I want them to know I support them completely.

Challenges and Rewards

The biggest challenge for us today is to be more economical. As the economy is being stressed, we have to be more inventive on ways to get our jobs accomplished more efficiently. If we succeed, we can reap the benefits and save our customers money. The rewards come in knowing that you have done your best to help the customers of this company by saving money that gets passed along to the rate payers.

Working Storms

When you are on a storm-restoration effort in an unknown area or town with a system you have never seen before, safety becomes the highest priority. You depend on the safety rules to keep you from an accident that could take your life.

My most memorable storm moment was during the storm of the century in 1993. When the storm hit full force, I was climbing a pole in the rear lot, strapped around a static bayonet at the top of the pole. When I got to the top, it was calm and the stars were out. A strange sound started approaching, and I looked back up and the stars were gone. The sound was that of a freight train, but there were no tracks around. The remaining hot circuits around me were quickly going out. Limbs were cracking and falling past me, and all I could do was hang on. It seemed like eternity. In reality, it was about 10 minutes or so until the hurricane-force winds calmed down enough for me to get unstrapped and down to the ground. However, I did get the wire back up before I went down.

Improving Efficiency in the Field

Our company is actively upgrading our facilities to become more reliable. The projects we are doing now will help us to withstand storms from hurricanes as well as our typical thunderstorms. To improve efficiency, we are trying to get more eyes looking at projects before they start. That way, when the line crew arrives, we do not delay the job because of design problems. We also have weekly safety meetings to keep all of our guys on their toes. We discuss all near misses, so everyone benefits from the situation.

Working as a Lineman

My proudest moment is when I passed my lineman's test and started my career as a journey lineman. I think ours is the greatest of jobs, and if I had to do it again, I would. The industry has been very good to me, and I want to try and give others the knowledge I have received over the years.

I have been with my company for 23 years. I am looking for about eight to 10 more years and then possibly at retirement. In the meantime, I want to help GRU be the best it can be and for electric T&D to flourish and continue to be one of the best line departments in the country.

T&D World is looking for utility professionals who have made a valuable contribution to the industry. If you would like to nominate someone for a future profile, please e-mail Amy Fischbach at amyfischbach@gmail.com with the person's contact information and a brief description about what makes him or her stand apart from the rest of the field crew. This department profiles only field personnel; no vendor nominations will be considered.