IBEW 1245 apprentice linemen flaunt their skills, support military veterans at Reno Linemans Rodeo

The apprentice linmen competitors with journeymen and supporters

The apprentice linemen competitors with journeymen and supporters

IBEW apprentice linemen from California and Nevada came to Reno on June 7 to demonstrate their skills and provide much-needed assistance to military veterans at the Reno Linemans Rodeo.

With friends and family looking on, 38 IBEW apprentices from PG&E and NV Energy competed under a brilliant blue sky in six events: insulator change out, knots around the clock, hurt man rescue, speed climb, written test and a “mystery event” which turned out to be an arrestor change-out.

It was the fifth rodeo for Blake McCoy, an NV Energy 2nd-year apprentice who has competed in national rodeos in Kansas City and Pennsylvania. “I like competing. It’s fun to hang out and meet other people,” McCoy said.

The journeyman lineman flag ceremony

IBEW 1245 Lineman Samson Wilson was the first up the pole in the flag-raising ceremony that opened the event. A dozen linemen in all scaled two poles to pass up flags representing California, Nevada, IBEW 1245 and IBEW 396, while a color guard stood at attention down below.

Wilson, who is an IBEW organizing steward and helped organize the rodeo, said he felt a lot of pride on his way up the pole.

“I have a tremendous amount of pride in my line of work,” said Wilson. “I love being a journeyman lineman. Even more so, I love being a part of IBEW 1245 which has provided such great opportunities for me in my life and for my family.”

Wilson said he and co-chair Jim Lyle of NV Energy hoped the annual rodeo will raise awareness about the company’s mission. “We keep the lights on,” Wilson said.

The Veterans tent featured a number of booths from different veterans resource groups, including the IBEW 1245 Veterans Committee

Proceeds from the rodeo will benefit the United Way’s efforts to provide assistance to veterans in need. In an effort to provide even more hands-on assistance to vets, the United Way, the US Department of Veterans Affairs, the IBEW 1245 Veterans Group and various industry vendors also had booths set up.

The IBEW 1245 Veterans Group booth was organized by NV Energy Apprentice and First Sergeant Jordan Bean and staffed by Veterans Group member Pam Pendleton, a Navy veteran who served for 8 years, and currently works a welder at Sunoptics, and IBEW 1245 organizer Eileen Purcell.

IBEW 1245 Organizing Steward Michelle Benuzzi joined with NV Energy’s Nanette Quitt to recruit participants, volunteers and vendor booths for the rodeo. “I wanted to show the community what our guys do and that unions are not a bad thing,” she said. “We’re out there, we’re helping our community and we’re giving back.”

All the proceeds from the event will go to the United Way’s Veterans Assistance Program. Last year’s Reno Rodeo raised more than $12,000 for charity, and while the final figures for this year’s event are still being calculated, organizers project they will exceed last year’s donation by a significant margin once they have added up all the registration fees, tee shirt and raffle ticket sales and generous donations from Local 1245 and a number of other sponsors and supporters.

Bronson Lee of NV Energy South frees a dummy from the line during the Hurt Man Rescue competition.

A host of skilled journeymen served as judges for the competition. Their efforts were coordinated by chief judges Dana Moler of IBEW 1245 and Greg Moore of IBEW 396. Both men serve as line trainers in their respective regions.

For Moler, the rodeo was about camaraderie and “bringing people together” in the trade. “It’s to showcase our skills and what we do every day, rain, shine, snow, wind,” he said.

At the evening Awards Banquet, the PG&E team was declared the winner of the day’s activities. Bronson Lee of NV Energy South finished first overall. Individual event winners included