CREWE, Va –Southside Electric Cooperative (SEC) employees competed in the Gaff-N-Go Lineman’s & Equipment Operator’s Rodeo at Meadow Event Park in Doswell May 19-20, bringing home top awards in several categories.
SEC employees from Altavista, Crewe, Dinwiddie and Powhatan squared off against other cooperatives and investor-owned power companies from several states in the 15th annual competition near Richmond. The rodeo featured a three-man journeyman division for more experienced linemen and an individual apprentice division. They competed in scored events that were like the actual work done on an everyday basis, focusing on accuracy, speed and, most importantly, safety. The competition helped build skills and teamwork.
In the journeyman competition, the SEC team of Will Southworth, Blake Poindexter and Brandon Rust grabbed first place in the wire down event. The team finished fifth in the climbing skills demonstration, ninth in replace failed underground, fourth in dead-end crossarm changeout and seventh overall.
During the equipment operator’s competition, Southworth, Poindexter and Rust placed seventh in bucket truck rescue.
Also in the equipment operator’s competition, the SEC team of Brandon Senger, Jared Mayton and Josh Krenicky took third in the crossarm changeout event. The team finished sixth overall.
Three Cooperative apprentices participated in the Gaff-N-Go. Trevor Duers finished second in hurt man rescue, third in area light changeout and sixth in the climbing skills demonstration test. Grayson Crawford took ninth in CPR and Jacob Morris finished ninth in hurt man rescue.
SEC showed its versatility by taking the top two spots in the Gaff-N-Grill barbecue contest. The Hawg Hangers team of John Keys, Jason Merricks and Jake Barringer repeated as the first-place grilling team, while the Central Smokers squad of Scott Wallace, Cole Owen, Brandon Redford and Mike Spencer came in second out of nine teams.
Also, SEC teams of Mike Southall, Jason Hinebaugh, Caleb Crowder and Nick Chumney, and Frank Miskovic, Daniel Boney, Brandon Senger, Josh Krenicky and Jared Mayton participated in the grilling.
SEC’s Gary Gibbs, Darryl Dinwiddie, Dean Hill, Daron Hanson, Joshua Wells and Dennis Inge were judges of the various competitions. SEC’s participation in the Gaff-N-Go was organized over several months by an employee committee headed by Vice President of Operations Services Brad Furr.
For event results and photos from this year’s Gaff-N-Go, visit www.gaff-n-go.com.
Southside Electric Cooperative (SEC) is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperative that serves over 55,000 homes and businesses in portions of 18 counties in central and southern Virginia. Headquartered in Crewe, SEC has district offices in Altavista, Crewe, Dinwiddie and Powhatan. For more information, visit www.sec.coop.
