CoServ Wins Four Trophies at Texas Lineman’s Rodeo in Seguin
CoServ linemen took home four trophies from the Texas Lineman’s Rodeo last weekend, the best overall rodeo results in CoServ’s history. All the teams that won hardware at the Texas rodeo in Seguin are now gearing up for the International Lineman’s Rodeo this October in Overland Park, Kansas! This is the first time CoServ has sent teams to the so-called “Super Bowl” of linemen rodeos.
The same work ethic and professionalism that drives CoServ linemen when they’re working in your neighborhood pushed them to make your co-op proud at the statewide competition. This event highlights the capabilities and know-how of CoServ linemen as they compete against linemen from all over the state while also allowing them to learn from one another and hone their skills.
In all, CoServ sent one Journeyman Team, a Senior Journeyman Team, an Apprentice Linemen Team, two barbecue cooking teams and several judges. In all, CoServ’s contingent consisted of 18 linemen.
As they trained, the linemen sought input from managers, supervisors and other experienced linemen, looking for anything that could give them an edge in the competition.
Months of hard work, training and conditioning paid off at the rodeo on July 19.
Journeyman Team wins first place
CoServ’s Journeyman Team won first place Overall Cooperative Division and 4th place Overall at the Texas Lineman’s Rodeo.
The Journeyman Team consists of Justin Brown, Jared Day and Garrett McFerren. Congratulations to this team, who has competed together for four years.
When they arrived at the competition, the events were nothing like what they’d practiced, Justin said. But they overcame every curveball that came their way.
The first event was changing out two insulators – the round bells that connect the high-voltage wires to the pole. But the process was completely different than how CoServ does it.
“That threw a wrench into everybody’s plans,” Justin said. “We ended up with a two-point deduction because we went over the time.”
That meant all the other events had to be perfect.
“We made sure on all other events, we ran them clean, staying focused, staying clam so we don’t get any other gigs and points deducted,” Justin said.
They were able to do just that.
“At the award ceremony, they called our name for first place. All of us jumped up and were super excited and all the guys were cheering us on,” Justin said.
CoServ's Senior Team wins trophy but is hungry for more
CoServ’s Senior Team won third place overall in the Senior Division. The team consisting of Chris Hammonds, Alex Garza and Luke Hawkins planned on retiring from the rodeo this year.
But they aren’t satisfied with third place.
“We just feel that we could do better, we’re all real competitive and we want to place higher,” Luke said. “We practiced hard and had those events down pretty well, but we had a few more gigs than we wanted to.”
Apprentice lineman takes home two trophies
Lineman Kenny Beutter won fourth place in the Overall Apprentice Division and fifth place in the Apprentice Division Written Test.
The written test includes everything from Ohm’s Law to how transformers work. He spent hours studying for the test, even creating online quizzes for himself.
Kenny learned a lot over the three years of competing so now he feels like he’s ready for the international rodeo in October.
“I was a lot more in shape,” Kenny said. “I felt like I had pretty good technique. I was trying to not waste movement and be deliberate about my next step. If my hand line got bunched up in a knot, I would roll with it and not let it stress me out.”
Gearing up for the International Lineman's Rodeo
The International Lineman’s Rodeo promises to be harder, more competitive and more unpredictable, with contestants finding out the day before what the different challenges will be.
“You have to come up with a game plan without practicing,” Justin said.
The egg race will have some new wrinkles to it, including having to transition over a neutral line halfway up the pole and carrying the egg in your mouth for the downward climb.
Stay tuned for more coverage and details leading up to the International Lineman’s Rodeo by following us on Facebook (@CoServEnergy), Instagram (@CoServ) and LinkedIn (@CoServ).