- Born in El Paso, Texas, as the youngest of three older siblings.
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Married to Carina, and they have a one-year-old son, River Haynes, and another baby boy on the way.
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Enjoys going to the lake in the summer, fishing, camping, hiking, working on vehicles and spending time with his family.
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Currently replacing rotten poles that get tested every few years to keep the reliability and integrity of the system. In the near future, he and his crew will be building new feeds as the city is expanding.
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Can’t live without Kleins, fiberglass sticks and battery-powered tools that make his job easier and safer. He says the battery-powered tool industry has improved lineworkers’ productivity significantly over the years, cutting time in half for some jobs and causing less fatigue on the body.
Learning About the Trade
I was interested in getting into the line trade when I was a junior in high school. One of my best friends had a close family friend who was a lineworker at the time, and he told me what a lineman did. At the time, I had no clue what I was getting myself into. I just knew it had something to do with electricity and climbing poles, and that really interested me. I am a first-generation lineman, and I would love to see my boys follow in my footsteps and keep carrying the name in the line trade.
Early Years
My first job was working for a contractor out in Colorado back in 2016. It was very difficult as an apprentice for the first couple of years, but it taught me so much and gave me a backbone that has made me who I am today as a journeyman lineman. On a day-to-day basis, we maintain and rebuild our transmission system and overhead distribution and underground system.
Challenges and Rewards
The most challenging part of my job is leaving my family in the morning or at night during a storm and having that thought if I make one mistake, I could possibly not see them again. The most rewarding part of my job is the lifestyle I get to give to my family and how recognized lineworkers are in the community for what we do.
Safety Lesson
During the first year of my career, I encountered a life-changing experience that changed my whole perspective on electricity. I was working for a contractor at the time, and most the guys on the crew were all very young. I was only 19 years old myself, and we didn’t really know a whole lot other than the basics of the trade. Our job was to frame poles along a busy blacktop road with no shoulder. We pulled in the ditch parallel with the power line that was getting rebuilt. I was on the ground behind the digger getting material ready along with one of my good friends who is no longer in the trade. The operator was on the captain seat of the truck swinging the boom around to grab the pole, which was lying on the ground. He wasn’t paying attention nor was anyone else spotting him on the power line right above him. All I remember is hearing a loud explosion-like sound, and I fell to the ground. I looked over to see my friend screaming and holding his hands over his stomach. He had been electrocuted from secondary point of contact, and I had been in the step potential zone. After that whole experience, I realized we all could have died from that situation, but God was watching over us that day. I learned that no job is too important to slow down and look around and see what is around you. I now push myself and other apprentices to take the time to be slow down and stop if something doesn’t feel right during a job. Safety is what gets you home—no matter the circumstances.
Memorable Storms
My most memorable storm restoration was working in the New York/Long Island area after a hurricane hit the East Coast. We drove from Colorado for 36 hours in the bucket and digger trucks with little sleep and gas station food. Once we got to the man camp, everything was full with thousands of lineworkers and trucks. Most of the lineworkers had to sleep in their trucks or drive hours the opposite direction to stay at a hotel after a 16- to 18-hour day. It was hot and humid, trees that took power lines had fallen down everywhere and there was standing water. We worked for two weeks straight until we got sent home. It was a very fun and rewarding experience.
Plans for the Future
I would go into the power industry all over again. I think I would do certain things differently, but I love how much this industry has grown. I am able to experience a lot of things, and I get to have fun doing it as well. It is also a very rewarding career. In the near future, as I age, I hope to get into a management position that is easier on the body.
