GUC has a year-round line-clearing program that covers approximately 2,942 miles of distribution lines and 77 miles of high voltage transmission lines on our electric system. Jeremy Page is one of our Tree Trimmers responsible for keeping those lines clear to help prevent outages.

Jeremy and the others work on a three-year cycle and are extremely careful about how they do their job. They consider what species of tree they’re working on, treating slow-growing trees differently than trees that grow more quickly. They also pay close attention to where each cut is made, making sure they trim to a natural sprout to keep the trees healthy.

In addition to tree trimming, Jeremy also helps with the vegetation management plan for our rights-of-way. This includes clearing out any undesirable brush with equipment or herbicides. And as our service area continues to grow, these crews are also responsible for clearing the land of trees and underbrush in preparation for new GUC facilities. They then maintain that property after installation is complete.

“I’ve always liked being outdoors, so I enjoy this work, especially with moving around to different job locations,” said Jeremy. In fact, he enjoys it to the point of doing it six days a week. “On the weekends, I work for a local tree service. I actually started working in the tree business about five years before I came to Greenville Utilities, so I’ve been doing tree work for almost 20 years now.”

Jeremy joined Greenville Utilities in August 2005. He started out in line clearing, then moved to an overhead line construction crew as well as a troubleshooting crew before coming back to line clearing. All this experience helps Jeremy when he assists other crews with projects or storm work.

Speaking of storm work, Jeremy has been on a handful of mutual aid trips following hurricanes and winter storms - from Florida to Connecticut. GUC occasionally provides mutual aid to other public utilities following catastrophic storms, and we’ve been on the receiving end of mutual aid as well.

Jeremy also served as a Lighthouse Observer for two years and competed in state and national lineworkers rodeos for seven years. Rodeos help lineworkers fine-tune their skills in doing a job quickly and safely. Over the years, Jeremy has brought home several rodeo trophies and competed on the North Carolina Journeyman team during the national rodeos (Journeymen have more than four years of experience).

He started slowing down on the rodeo competitions after his daughter, Madelynn, was born. She is now six, and Jeremy’s son, Jackson, is five. He enjoys spending his spare time with the kids, and especially likes taking them to the beach. He also likes hunting and fishing when time allows.

“I pretty much let the kids plan our weekends,” he said. “Madelynn is getting into soccer and gymnastics, and I’m sure Jackson will get into extra activities soon too.”

Jeremy grew up in Pitt County (Black Jack area) and is a graduate of D.H. Conley High School. GUC is lucky he stayed near home!

Favorites:

Team - Duke Basketball
Restaurant - Texas Roadhouse
Snack - Reese's Pieces
Movie - Denzel Washington Movies