DANVILLE — Six linemen from NineStar Connect tested their skills this week at the Indiana Electric Cooperative Lineman Rodeo, held at the Hendricks County Fairgrounds Aug. 25-26.
Journeyman linemen Austin Gearlds, Eric Truitt and Kory Chapman and apprentice linemen Tyler Huff, Justin Messer and Brenden Box competed with fellow linemen from across the state to see who could climb poles and switch out lines the fastest and with the best accuracy, among other things.
Tommy Nance, NineStar Connect’s director of electrical operations, said the event affords linemen the chance to show off their skills while networking with colleagues.
“We as managers get to meet with our peers regularly to network, but the linemen typically don’t. Unless there’s a storm (and they’re helping one another) they don’t get to hang out together,” said Nance, who helped coordinate this year’s rodeo — a first for the Indiana Electric Cooperative.
Twenty of the 38 cooperatives throughout the state sent a collective 80 participants to the rodeo, which Nance thought was a tremendous turnout for the first year.
Members of Kentucky Electric Cooperatives assisted with the inaugural event, leaning on their 17 years experience hosting their own rodeo.
Jamie Bell, a construction engineer for NineStar Connect, said the event gives linemen extra incentive to practice and hone their skills.
“Our guys spent the last month practicing on our practice poles, doing all they can to improve their skills, which really results in better quality linemen,” said Bell, who served as a judge at this year’s rodeo.
“The rodeo really promotes working on those skills and doing them safely, and seeing how well you can do it without any infractions,” he said.
Nance said linemen tend to be competitive by nature, which makes for a great event.
Individual events at this year’s inaugural rodeo included the Skill Climb, Hurt-Man Rescue and Angle Pole Transfer and Tie.
Team events included a Hurt-Man Rescue, De-Energized OCR Changeout and 3-Phase Dead-End Changeout — all technical speak for seeing who could do complex lineman tasks with the best speed and accuracy.
The Hurt Man Rescue, for example, challenges linemen to emulate rescuing an injured colleague from atop a utility pole.
“You have to climb up and carry down essentially a 200-pound dummy. It’s a timed event, and there are deductions for certain things,” said Nance.
In addition to competing and networking, linemen and managers also got the chance to visit with vendors who were on site promoting everything from bucket trucks to fire safety apparel.
David Spencer, NineStar Connect’s director of marketing, said the rodeo proved to be a great opportunity for local linemen.
“The rodeo is a really unique opportunity to bring together some of the hardest working people in cooperatives across the state in a fun setting. It’s a pretty cool experience,” he said.
