Cooperative Living April 2022 - 6

POWERFUL CAREERS
Creating owerful Careers
by Laura Emery, Staff Writer
C
lyde Robertson loves helping
young men and women achieve
their dreams in the power line
worker industry.
As lead instructor for Southside
Virginia Community College's Power
Line Worker Program, he has helped
guide more than 390 students on the
path to successful " powerful careers. "
I do because I love it. "
The linework industry is one that has
traditionally been overlooked by young
people. " But that's becoming less and less
of an issue because of programs like ours.
Young men and women are signing up.
They know the linework industry
involves good benefits, good pay and
good people, " he says.
Good people, like the " brothers
and sisters " he left behind at SEC.
" Once you start a career with an electric
cooperative, it's like joining a family. "
He notes that while the pay may lure
the members of the Virginia, Maryland
program welcomed the first class to
the SVCC Occupational/Technical
Center at Pickett Park in Blackstone.
Robertson found his way to the
PLWP after retiring from a 32-year
career with Southside Electric
Cooperative as line tech supervisor.
" I came here because I believed in the
program, and because I love leading
young people in the right direction, "
the Burkeville native says. " I do what
WHAT'S A CO-OP?
The Largest Co-op ackles COVID
S
ince 1967, the Indian Farmers
Fertiliser Cooperative has been
providing soil nutrients and
promoting agricultural productivity in
the world's most populous democracy.
During that time, IFFCO has grown
into the largest cooperative in the
world, with around 35,000 member
systems owned by 50 million farmers.
It contributes up to one-third of the
fertilizers in India.
When the coronavirus hit the
subcontinent, IFFCO built four new
oxygen plants to help hospitals treat
COVID-19. The cooperative's 400
field officers act as " coronavirus
troopers, " doing awareness and relief
distribution work on the ground. Th y
4 ● Cooperative Living ● April 2022
As a member of an electric cooperative, you
are part of one of 3 million co-ops worldwide.
Here's the story about one of them.
reached out to the farmers through
WhatsApp and relief distribution and
awareness camps, set up at more than
1,400 locations benefiting 650,000
people. Th campaign will continue
until the country is free of COVID.
" India's COVID-19 fight is peopledriven.
It gets strength from our COVID
warriors. Our collective efforts have
helped in saving many lives. We have to
continue the momentum and protect
our citizens from the virus, " says Dr. U.S.
Awasthi, managing director of IFFCO. 
co-opliving.com
young people into the field of electric
linework, it ultimately is not about the
pay. " It's about how happy it makes
people when you get their lights back
on. It might start ff being about the
pay, but it ends up, more often than not,
about doing something that benefits
others. And that is a powerful feeling. "
In 2020, Robertson was awarded the
2019 Chancellor's Award for Excellence
in the area of Outstanding Achievement
by a College Faculty/Stff Member from
the Virginia Community College
System.
Clyde Robertson
Lead Instructor - Power Line Worker Program
Southside Virginia Community College
He says, " I was honored but I'm not
any better than anybody else in the
program. I'm one of three instructors,
and just one little piece of the puzzle. "
However fi nding out that he's made
a lasting impression on his students is
one of the most profound rewards of all.
" Th y're an inspiration to me and I'm
just trying to be a little bit of an
inspiration to them, as well, " he says.
" I love watching them leave our program
and go out and do great things in the
linework industry. "
Being a former lineworker himself,
Robertson says, " It's not a dream life
sometimes, but I would not trade one
minute of the last 42 years I've been
doing this. " 
For more, visit vmdaec.com/powerfulcareers.
http://www.vmdaec.com/powerfulcareers http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living April 2022

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