The team of GreyStone Power linemen who took home first place overall at last year’s International Lineman’s Rodeo returned to Kansas this month to compete again. The journeyman lineman team of Tony Brown of Villa Rica, Josh Jones of Dallas, and Patrick LeCroy of Dallas took home first place in the rural electric co-op division and fourth overall against 209 other teams at this year’s International Lineman’s Rodeo. Along with the co-op division, rodeo participants can include investor-owned utilities, municipal electric utilities, contractors, seniors and military utility workers.
The 2013 journeyman team events included the Hurtman Rescue, which uses a dummy to simulate an injured lineman that participants must then rescue; the Pole Climb event, which requires participants to carry an egg down a pole without breaking it; and two mystery events. GreyStone’s winning team placed second in one of the mystery events, which required the linemen to cut a jumper cable. The other mystery event involved changing an insulator bell, a piece of equipment found on overhead power lines.
Rodeo competitions encourage safe work practices, since linemen are judged in large part on safety during events. If linemen competing in an event can prevent losing any safety points, the winner of the event will depend on who completed the event the fastest.
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Also participating in the rodeo this year was the team of Sam Albright, Marcus Aldridge and Josh Kirby with coach Steve Jenkins. The team of Derek Carruth, Jack Rider, Tim Costner and coach Matt Orr participated as well.
Following the rodeo competition, participants reconvene in the evening for a banquet and awards ceremony. This year’s rodeo banquet started out by honoring the winners from last year, including GreyStone’s team of Brown, Jones and LeCroy as well as lineman Matt Williams, who served as the team’s coach last year.
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The four linemen were also recently honored with championship rings to commemorate winning first place overall at the 2012 International Lineman’s Rodeo. GreyStone President/CEO Gary Miller presented each of the winners with a one-of-a-kind World Champion ring created by MTM Recognition.
GreyStone Power serves more than 107,400 members in portions of eight counties, including Paulding, Douglas, Fulton, Cobb, Carroll, Bartow, Fayette and Coweta counties. Learn more at www.greystonepower.com.
