Manager’s Comments

Daryl Jones, Manager of Black Warrior EMC

On April 18, our nation will observe National Linemen Appreciation Day to honor the hard work that men and women do to keep the power on. In 2012, Superstorm Sandy ravaged the east coast, causing very extensive damage that required linemen from all over the nation to be summoned to assist in the restoration of electricity. Black Warrior EMC deployed a full crew to Maryland for many days to aid a sister co-op there following this storm.

There was much publicity on this storm’s impact to our nation. Over 67,000 of our nation’s 115,000 line workers worked Sandy. Enough so that our 113th Congress passed a bill designating April 18 as National Linemen Appreciation Day and it became law beginning in 2013. A year later on March 6, 2014, the Alabama Legislature passed a joint resolution declaring a statewide Linemen Appreciation Day for the first Monday in June each year. This has now been changed so both days are concurrently observed on April 18.

I’m sure you will read more in this magazine about this day. However, since I spent my first dozen or so years out of college as an Apprentice then Journeyman, I wanted to say a few words from that perspective. Linemen are always conscious of the weather. When storms are forecast, plans are changed. How many home cooked meals have linemen missed or had to walk away from when the call came? How many children’s ballgames, recitals, plays or school programs have linemen had to miss? Or, how many times did they travel in separate vehicles...just in case?

I distinctly remember having our crews out of town for Christmas assisting our sister co-op, Franklin EC, in Northwest Alabama following an ice storm. These men quickly celebrated with their families on Christmas Eve and deployed that day. Again, in 1994, a severe ice storm hit Northwest Alabama, initiating calls for assistance. On February 14, 1994 (yep, Valentines) I assembled a 16-man team and we headed north to help Franklin EC again and the city of Florence. A week later I brought a bunch of tired, dedicated linemen home safely. When linemen travel to provide mutual aid, there is no way to know what the living conditions will be. We usually take food and water to last for several days until the co-op has time to set up logistics. Sleeping accommodations could be your truck for a night or two. When you typically work 16 hours in whatever weather conditions prevail, that short rest is needed.

Hurricanes Katrina and Ivan had the most impacts on our system. I can’t begin to tell you how proud Black Warrior was of our employees. Many had major damage at home but were determined to work tirelessly to get the power restored as quickly as possible. My most memorable event was Katrina. After working over a week on our system, 30 line workers volunteered to deploy to Louisiana to reside in a tent city and assist WST Cooperative restore power from Bush to Slidell, Louisiana. I remember arriving with the first 10 men and seeing all those trucks and the National Guard. The parish was under martial law and soldiers roamed our perimeter with assault rifles. We ate breakfast and supper in a mess tent and usually MREs for lunch on the job. We showered in showers on a trailer and slept on cots in a huge tent with 400-500 other line workers. We swapped out crews every week for 3 weeks. It wasn’t all smooth either. There had to be a lot of climbing to get the job done, just as it is now sometimes.

Many dangers are present for line workers daily. The obvious ones are the heights to be reached and the hazardous voltage present upon arrival. Traffic causes danger for our workers alongside the road. Linemen can never be sure just how good that old pole is that they’re climbing.

Ever since the first electric street lights were set up in London in 1878, linemen have done their jobs keeping the lights on in some of the most dangerous situations and weather conditions.

National Linemen Appreciation Day honors those men and women who risk their lives to keep the power running in our communities. Thank one when you see them!

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