For the second time this year, a team of Electric Department employees traded hard hats for cowboy hats, this time at the 58th Annual North Carolina Association of Municipal Electric Systems (NCAMES) Lineman’s Rodeo in Fayetteville, NC, on May 16th. More than 100 public power lineworkers from around the state (plus a team from Fort Belvoir, Virginia) competed in events that test their knowledge and ability to perform tasks safely and quickly.

Employees volunteer to participate in the rodeo, which involves Apprentices (less than four years of experience) and Journeymen (more than four years). GUC’s journeyman team included Overhead Lineworkers Brian Baker, David Guy, and Steven Briley, along with Underground Lineworker Travis Ransom. Overhead Lineworkers Caleb Brickhouse, Matthew Craft, and Bryson Hall competed individually in the apprentice division.

The Apprentice group took a written test before both groups headed to the competition field, where all the events involved tasks on a 40-foot utility pole.

Our team performed well again this year! In the Apprentice competitions, Caleb placed second Overall, first in the XFMR Load Transfer, third in the Hurtman Rescue, and second in the 3-Phase Fuse. Matthew placed first in the 3-Phase Fuse and second in the Load Transfer. Bryson placed fifth in the 3-Phase Fuse.

In the Journeyman Division, David placed second Overall, first in URD Elbow, and third in Alley Arm. Steven placed third in the URD Elbow.

Congrats, team, on a job well done again!