Check Bluebonnet's social media on April 11 for a tribute to our line workers. Here, Brandon Krivacka, in Brenham, prepares a transformer to be installed at a location where new construction is taking place. (Sarah Beal photo)
Looking for a good day to thank the men and women who build, restore and maintain your — and Bluebonnet’s — power supply system? Try Monday, April 11. That’s National Lineman Appreciation Day, and it’s an opportunity to acknowledge the 24/7 work done by line workers to construct, maintain, and restore your power after an outage and to keep the power flowing at all times, even under dangerous conditions and during severe weather.
Electric cooperatives observe the second Monday in April as National Lineman Appreciation Day, after a 2014 decision by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association board. If you feel like thanking them twice, line workers at all utilities are celebrated on April 18, based on a U.S. Senate resolution passed in 2013.
Check Bluebonnet’s social media on April 11 for a tribute to Bluebonnet’s line workers, and feel free to share your thanks on those posts.
Want to become a line worker? Bluebonnet accepts applications for its U.S. Department of Labor Certified Apprentice Program on the first Tuesday of every month. Find applications and other career opportunities at bluebonnet.coop.
A return to the Texas Lineman’s Rodeo
A team of Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative line workers — journeymen and apprentices — will once again compete against their peers from across Texas in the annual Texas Lineman’s Rodeo on July 16, 2022, at Nolte Island Park near Seguin.
The annual contest was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 and extreme weather. Conditions are still being monitored in order to provide a safe environment for line workers from across the state to compete at the event.
At the competition, there will be a variety of judged and timed events that mirror much of the work line workers do daily: climbing poles, repairing power lines and working on equipment. There is even an event involving a pole-top rescue of a mannequin the size and weight of an injured line worker. Apprentices who compete also take a written test. If that’s not enough to fill your day, there’s even a competitive barbecue cook-off.
For more information, visit tlra.org.