• Born in Memphis, Tennessee.
• Married for 16 years to his wife, Sonya; father of daughters Brennan and Carley.
• His coworkers would describe him as a wisecrack, honest, devoted, loyal and friendly. He describes himself as dependable.
• Enjoys coaching soccer and participating in water sports.
• Says he can't live without aerial lift trucks, climbing tools and mini derricks.
• Inspired by his family.

Early Years

Our local junior college offered a two-semester program for linemen. Once I completed the program at Southwest Tennessee Community College, I was hired on at Memphis Light, Gas & Water. In 1991, I became a pre-apprentice lineman, and I had a six-month probation. Once I met that probation, I started in the four-and-a-half-year apprenticeship program. I then became a journeyman and now work as a lead lineman, which is one position under the crew leader.

Day in the Life

My day usually starts about 6:45 a.m., and I'm at work by 7 a.m. I usually come in, get my work materials ready, make sure the trucks are ready to go, travel to the job site and line out my crew.

Our jobs take from two weeks to six months to complete. We're building line extensions, upgrading system maintenance and working on road-widening projects.

On the Job

One of my favorite projects was a transmission job that we did back in 1995. We had to tie two substations together, and we interacted with all four work centers. It was fun to work with the other linemen.

Safety Lesson

When I first became a journeyman lineman, I had an experience I will not soon forget. One of my friends who went through the apprenticeship program with me was working on a job site that was supposed to be de-energized. He came in contact with a phase-to-ground on a 23-kV system, and he received third-degree burns. That was his last day on the line truck. He made it through, and he's now a dispatcher. That's probably the closest call I've had as far as someone being severely injured. I learned never to take someone else's word when something is dead and grounded.

Challenges and Rewards

One of the biggest challenges I face is to be safe. Live-line work is one of the most dangerous jobs in the utility industry. There are a lot of safety procedures you need to go through to keep yourself safe from injury. I always make sure my crew has rubber gloves and sleeves if they're doing live-line work, and we often try to knock out this type of work in the mornings.

The rewards are training the new guys who come in and watching them develop as apprentices and then become journeymen. I'm the apprenticeship training rep, and I've been doing that for 10 years. I'm on a committee that trains and tests our apprentice linemen.

Working Storms

In 1994, an ice storm caused severe damage, and we had to work 16 hours a day for 29 days straight. The ice was so heavy, and it took several days to melt. As soon as we completed the maintenance, trees would fall on the line again. We even had to put up one line twice. We had 300,000 people out of power, and it was very grueling. We got four to five hours of sleep a night because of the time it took to drive to the site and get ready.

Competing in the Rodeo

One of my favorite parts of my job is that I get to compete in the International Lineman's Rodeo. It's not just about utility work all the time. I've competed on and off since 2000, and I last competed in the rodeo two years ago. I enjoy the camaraderie and the competitiveness. We also won the 2005 American Public Power Association Rodeo.

Future Plans

I would definitely go into this industry if I had to do it over again. It's very rewarding, and the pay is exceptional. I plan on being a lineman for the rest of my career, and I'll probably retire as a crew leader or go into management.

Transmission & Distribution 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 afischbach@tdworld.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.