• Born in Houston, Texas.

• Married for 27 years to his wife, Melissa, and father to a son, Hunter, and a daughter, Taylor.

• Enjoys hunting, softball and martial arts.

• Credits Winston Moore for being the best boss of his career, because he taught him the most and pushed him to do his best. He also considers all of his coworkers part of his family.

• Describes himself as a self-starter and hard worker who gets along well with others. His coworkers would describe him as a perfectionist who is willing to go the extra mile.

• Can't live without safety rules, hot sticks and rubber gloves.

Early Years

I have been working at CenterPoint Energy for the past 28 years. In fact, this is where I began my career. I started as an apprentice and now work as a journeyman lineman.

Through the years, I've learned the importance of showing up to work on time. Early in my career, I showed up late on a few occasions, and my head lineman at the time cared enough to call my father and have him motivate me to show up to work on time. That is when I realized how important it was not only to me and my family, but also for all the customers who depend on me.

Family Ties

Members of my family have been in the utility business since 1955, and I decided to follow in their footsteps right after I graduated from high school in 1982.

My father, mother and all three of my brothers have either worked for or are still working for CenterPoint Energy. My parents and oldest brother have retired, but my second-oldest brother still works here, along with two of my nephews and my niece.

Day in the Life

I begin my day around 8 a.m. I first meet with our foremen to discuss their job assignments, then we gather our required materials and head out to our respective job sites.

Safety Lesson

Safety is our company's biggest concern, but there is always a lingering chance of serious injury or worse within this type of business. I remember a fire igniting once while I was plugging in a meter. Although I had on all my personal protective equipment, there was no harm, but a job that should have been so simple could have quickly turned into a catastrophe.

Memorable Storms

I had only been married for two weeks when I went on duty for my first hurricane, Alicia, in 1983. My wife learned a quick lesson on how to be a lineman's wife. But my most memorable and yet most disturbing and destructive hurricanes were Ike and Katrina. Those recollections will be with me forever.

Challenges and Rewards

The most important challenge for a lineman is to make sure that you and each of your coworkers returns home safely every day. Significant challenges facing our industry are clean power, the rising cost of electricity and deregulation.

The most rewarding part of my job is that I get to work with some of the most skilled linemen in the country while keeping 2.1 million customers as happy as possible.

Life of a Lineman

If I had to do it over again, I would definitely go into this industry again. Working as a lineman has been very rewarding, because I have had the opportunity to travel the country and restore electrical service to many people in several states through mutual assistance partnerships. In the future, I plan on finishing my present career as a lineman and retiring from CenterPoint Energy.

Training the Next Generation

I enjoy assisting helpers and apprentices by transferring some of my knowledge to them, because they are the future of this company. What we do each day will make a better tomorrow for anyone using electricity.