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December 2002 IBEW Journal Lineman Tribute "When the power is out and the wires fall, neither a doctor, nor lawyer gets the call. For it is the lineman who climbs the pole to restore power to the young and the old. The wire is heavy and the voltage high, one wrong move and he knows he could die. You are a man among men and few will travel the path you have been. You are a lineman forever, which cant be taken away. Your spirit inside is there to stay. You have pride, integrity and guts; some people might even call you nuts. You are kind, smart and conscientious and are a hero to many of us. For with your muscle and might, you turned our darkness into light." Have a safe and enjoyable holiday season, and Happy New Year to all. Ed Mings, B.M./F.S. Ron Carpenter Retires
L.U. 234 (i,o,rtb,rts&spa), CASTROVILLE, CA Congratulations to Bus. Mgr./Fin. Sec. Ronald Carpenter, who retired effective September 2002. Pres. Ray Nichols will fulfill the remainder of his term. Bro. Carpenter served as business manager with fairness and equality to all he represented for the past 18 years. He also represented the Ninth District and the CIR Committee for three years and served on the Castroville Chamber of Commerce and as Monterey/Santa Cruz County Building Trades secretary. Enjoy your retirement, Ron, you have earned it! The 54th annual apprenticeship completion dinner was held at the Hyatt in Monterey, CA, and we congratulate the following graduates: Ivan Barcinas, Steve Zuniga, Derek Webster, Ralph Garcia, Juan Dominques, Jose Moncada, Javier Contreas, Mateo Ceralde and Steve Allemand. Bro. Jose Moncada received the outstanding apprentice watch given each year to the apprentice with the best attendance, grade point average and all around good attitude. Congratulations to all! The first year apprentices presented a jacket to Bro. John Long as a token of their appreciation for his great attitude and ability in his 17 years as instructor for first-year apprentices. Robert W. Cole, P.S. Labor Day Parade
L.U. 236 (catv,ees,govt,i,mo,rtb&t), ALBANY, NYThe 2002 Albany Labor Day parade saw the debut of the Local 236 Honor Guard. Among the flag bearers and wearing new marching jackets were Eddie Robinson, Jr. (American flag) and Jeff Haggerty (Local 236 flag), flanked by riflemen Doug Watrobski and Mark McGarry. Behind the Colors was the Local 236 Banner carried by Kurt Sanders and Bill Czlusniak. Following the Honor Guard and banner were over 300 Local 236 members, retirees and family members, a 40-foot parade float and several contractor vehicles. The 300-plus marchers made for the largest turnout ever for Local 236, and the group was also acknowledged by the reviewing stand as the largest contingent in the parade. Following the parade, marchers enjoyed an afternoon picnic and music at Washington Park in Albany. Thanks to all who participated. Bus. Mgr. Tim Paley and the officers extend their best wishes for a happy and safe holiday season. Michael V. Doyle, P.S. Membership Milestones
L.U. 238 (i,mo,o&u), ASHEVILLE, NCLocal 238 held its annual picnic on Saturday, August 17, with about 65 members and family in attendance. Three brothers were recently honored for reaching incredible membership milestones60-year member Frank W. Moody, 55-year member Leroy H. Clonts and 50-year member Harry G. Robbins. Bros. Jim Robertson and Eddy Simmons recently retired. They served on many boards and committees and gave many faithful years of service to Local 238. Our brothers will be sorely missed. Enjoy your retirement, you deserve it. Local 238 has been invited to marshal the 2002 Asheville Christmas parade on Saturday, November 23. This is a great honor and a chance for high visibility for our small union. The parade is rebroadcast on a regional television station, and estimates for all audiences were in excess of 150,000 people. At this writing, two special projects are in the works. The Local 238 Web site has been approved and should be running by now, and work day at Eliada Homes for Children to rewire the barn where the animals from the TASC program are housed will be undertaken in November. Rick Sluder, Pres. Rebuilt Bigger and Better!
L.U. 252 (ees,i,rts&spa), ANN ARBOR, MIA little more than a year ago, Local 252 and the Ann Arbor division of NECA was preparing to celebrate the completion of a new $800,000 training center in Chelsea when an appliance fire destroyed the building and the work of hundreds of volunteers and contractors. Today the Ann Arbor JATC is raising a bigger, better facility out of the ashes at 13400 Luick Drive. "On the opposite side of every tragedy is an opportunity, and weve used the opportunity to advance our dreams for the school and build most of them into the reconstruction after the fire," said Building Committee Chairman Jerry Gordenier. "On one hand the fire set us back a year; on the other hand it put us ahead ten." As part of the reconstruction, a second floor was added, giving the training center more office space, a larger library, three classrooms, a separate computer room, and a larger lab area. What was a 10,000 square-foot facility before the fire will be 18,000 square feet at completion. The JATC voted to buy a training site in early 2000 to accommodate the rapidly growing apprenticeship program. The school offers a five-year commercial program and three-year programs in residential wiring and voice/data/video. Ken Wadland, P.S. Eric Wick Wins It
L.U. 280 (c,ees,em,es,i,mo,mt,rts& st), SALEM, ORLocal 280 was well represented at the Western States Electrical Contest held in Sacramento, CA. Local 340 presented a very professional and thorough contest for the top IBEW/NECA JATC graduates throughout the west. The weather was great and brotherhood was even better as 22 graduates competed for the first place trophy. On the morning of September 14, contestants started on theory, material identification, NEC Code, conduit-bending, residential and industrial hands-on wiring. At the end of the day the scores were tabulated and Local 280 member Eric Wick had the highest overall score! Eric won by displaying a knowledge and command in all phases of the contest. Also joining Eric was alternate contestant Grant Thompson. Special guests included Local 280 Pres. Rich Lofton and Int. Vice Pres. Mike Mowrey. Thanks to the Central Training Trust, JATC Dir. Dan Campbell and the Tangent Training Center for providing an apprenticeship program that allows someone like Eric to excel and reach his fullest potential. Jerry Fletcher, P.S. |
