Linemen across Georgia are being recognized Monday for national lineman appreciation day.
When storms knock down power lines, linemen are the first people on the job to restore power.
“A lot of times just the wind itself can break poles,” Jed Clark, a Habersham EMC lineman said. “More often than not, especially in our service area, trees will fall or tree limbs will fall. And they could do anything. Sometimes they'll just slap the line as they're coming down. When the lines get together, that's not a good thing. It could blow a fuse or open a breaker. Sometimes it'll tear the line down, and we have to put it back up.”
Clark has been with Habersham EMC since the end of 2014 and in 2017 he joined the line construction department. He had to undergo five years of on-the-job apprenticeship training to become a lineman. Clark also attended Georgia EMC’s training center in Smarr in Middle Georgia.
“We also have an on-the-job training book that we complete,” Clark said. “And so at the end of those five years, you're considered a lineman. First-class lineman or journeyman lineman… But you really never stop learning every day.”
According to Clark, Habersham EMC serves rural and mountainous areas in lake Burton, Clermont and White County. His job can be dangerous, but Clark said that Habersham EMC frequently trains its staff.
“We try to just keep an eye out for each other,” Clark said. “We stay alert and pay attention. You need to be comfortable while you work and while you’re doing this job. But you don't want to get too comfortable and ignore your training, and ignore the things that you need to do to keep yourself safe. That's why we continually do training.”
Habersham EMC recently completed a training day with their linemen.
“All the linemen here got together, and we did a pole top rescue and bucket truck rescue with a 200 pound mannequin,” Clark said. “We tie[d] him up at the top of the pole, we climb[ed] up there and we let him down safely. We practice for the worst-case scenario and just hope it never happens.”
Clark said that the most challenging days on the job are often the ones that are the most memorable. His first storm-related experience was in Seminole County after Hurricane Michael hit the community in 2018.
“The way they supported us, even with all the terrible things that had just been through…,” Clark said. “There were homes destroyed, churches destroyed and families torn apart. But these people drove across state lines to go get us blankets, toiletries and food. They treated us with immense grace, and that was one of the coolest things I've ever seen.”
To show support for a lineman, Clark said that people can display a similar sense of patience and understanding. He said that linemen are open to public questions while they work, as long as people are respectful of their work zone.
“We can't have people walking right up underneath a power pole or coming directly into a work zone,” Clark said. “But we're not opposed to talking with people and trying to give them as much information as we can.”
