This year’s 2024 National Gas Rodeo took place at the beautiful Turfway Park Field in Florence, Kentucky and was hosted by Duke Energy. PG&E and IBEW Local 1245 sponsored six teams that competed in the event.
For seasoned Rodeo competitors Nic Reed and Kevin Gonzales, also known as the two-man team “Gas Money” out of Yosemite GC, the competition is something they look forward to all year.
“This is my ninth year doing it, so I try to come back every year — until I’m too old to move,” said Gonzales, a 13-year member of IBEW 1245. “I think this year was great. The facility is awesome. The venue for the banquet and where they’re hosting everything, it’s great. I think it’s the best one that I’ve been to.”
All of the IBEW Local 1245 and PG&E sponsored teams performed very well, and several of the teams placed in the top three in some of the individual events. These teams were the two-man teams of Gas Money, Squeeze Easy, and Hot Tie-in, and the four-man teams of Young Bucks and Hot Headz.
The Young Bucks, an IBEW Local 1245 sponsored four-man team hailing from PG&E GC Gas Salida yard, had setbacks even before the Rodeo began. Two of the four original members could not compete due to injury and illness. Special thanks to two-man team alternates Rafael Zermeno (Squeeze Easy) and Kyle Hill (Hot Tie-In) who both stepped up and filled in on the Young Bucks team. Even though the four-man team was put together last minute with no practice time with each other, the Young Bucks still managed to nab one of the top three fastest times in the four-man pipe cut and meter set build events.
Special thanks to all our members who competed, their families who attended, and the PG&E and 1245 staff who worked so hard to bring the event together. Our members made the entire local proud with their fierce competitive spirit and outstanding sportsmanship throughout the Rodeo.
–Phuong Tran, IBEW Local 1245 Business Representative
The Young Bucks team in the pipe cut event.
The Filthy Four in the Meter set event.
The Hot Tie-In team in the service install event.
Gas Money in the pipe cut event.