• Born in Lehi, Utah.

• Married to Allison and father of four Jake, Cameron, Kaitlin and Joshua.

• Enjoys skiing, racing bikes and playing guitar.

• Describes himself as happy, healthy, caring and a team player who likes to get along with people.

Early Years

I started in the utility industry in the 1980s, when the economy was tough and utilities were solid and stable. I thought if I worked as a lineman, then I would always have a job.

My first job was working for the city. Instead of starting me out as an apprentice, they sent me up in a bucket to do high-voltage work, a task for which I was not qualified. I knew I needed better training, so I went to the union hall to get a construction apprenticeship. I worked for Mountain States Line Construction JATC and was hired on in 1985 as a journeyman lineman for Utah Power and Light (now Rocky Mountain Power). In 2005, I began working for Grant County Public Utility District and have been on the crew ever since.

Family Ties

My dad was a lineman and climbed poles for Mountain Bell. I was always proud of him, and I thought what he did was amazing. I liked the thrill of the work and the adventure. To me, linemen are like extreme sport guys, as are ironworkers or lumberjacks. We're not confined to an office or a cubicle, and we don't know where we're going to be from one day to the next.

Day in the Life

Our crew starts work around 8 a.m., takes a half-hour lunch and wraps up by about 4:30 p.m. Since we have a service territory that is about 100 miles wide, we move around the county to do our work. Right now we are doing maintenance on the 115-kV and 230-kV transmission line switches. Because there is such a demand to keep the customers in service, we're working live during this project.

Favorite Tools

My favorite tool is a battery-operated press, which I consider the tool of the decade. Using the old hand press was hard on the elbows, but with this tool, you only press a button, and it makes the connection for you. I also like a hot stick called the alligator stick, which I can take in the bucket or pole. It's something I can always use.

Challenges and Rewards

I'm challenged with keeping up with the work, which can be physically demanding. I'm 51 and still climbing poles. I need to stay in shape and take care of myself so that I can get up the towers and keep up with the younger guys.

One of the rewards of being a lineman is seeing smiling faces when we turn the electricity back on following a storm.

Safety Lesson

The importance of working safely first struck me when I worked for a municipal power company 28 years ago. One of the dispatchers couldn't use his left hand because of an accident when he worked as a lineman. Another one of my coworkers didn't have index fingers. I decided that I needed to work safely so I wasn't in that condition. To learn how to work safely as a lineman, I went to the union hall to get proper training.

Over the course of time, I became aware of linemen who were critically injured or were killed on the job. Seeing the impact that it had on the families, and the pain and suffering it caused, made me realize that it was something I didn't want to go through. I try to make good decisions each day at work so I don't put myself in jeopardy.

Storm Moment

One of my favorite storm-restoration efforts was in the winter of 2007 in Grays Harbor County, Washington. The entire county was in the dark. We drove about an hour north from our service center to Olympic National Park, and we worked as a mutual aid crew on the coast. I remember that we had beautiful weather, and we only had to put on our rain gear once in nine days. I also recall borrowing some canoes to go out into a lake to retrieve some wire that had fallen down into the water. The people were so friendly that it was almost like we were in the Wizard of Oz, and we had gone over the rainbow. It was an experience I'll never forget.