Cooperative Living January 2020 - 16

'I do like the idea of
creating a path for
other women to follow
in my footsteps.'
- Genevie Boarman
Without a doubt, her goal would
make her father proud.
Tears well up in her eyes at the
mention of her father, who died in 2013.
" I did everything with my dad, " she says.
" I can still remember him taking me and
my three siblings up in the bucket truck.
I looked up to him and thought he could
do anything. It's sometimes hard to be
here at the training center doing the
kind of work he used to do without
thinking about him. "
Boarman takes a moment to compose
herself, then says, " But I am the hard
worker I am because of him. He never
took it easy on me. If I wanted to do
something, he always let me do it.
He didn't treat me like a girl, if that
makes sense. "
She watched her father lace up his
work boots and go to work at the electric
cooperative each day, too. " Keeping the
lights on was very important to him. He
couldn't go on family vacations with us
Training School is
250 Graduates Strong
and he missed a lot of birthdays, but
he loved what he did, " she says.
Due in part to her father's work
history in the electric cooperative
world, Boarman would like to follow
in his footsteps and work for a co-op.
" I like how electric cooperatives are
involved in their communities and
are so family-oriented, " she says.
Boarman knows that should she join
the workforce at an electric cooperative
in Virginia upon graduation, she would
be the first female electric cooperative
lineworker in that state.
Firsts like that matter. " I do like the
idea of creating a path for other women
to follow in my footsteps, " she says.
But, at the end of the day, Boarman just
wants to work her hardest and get the
job done.
Already, school lead instructor
Clyde Robertson sees leadership
qualities in his young charge, calling
her " a role model " for her fellow
students. " If I could get more like her
to come through, it would be a benefit
to the program, " he says. " I think she
influenced a lot of the younger guys
in her class. By her showing interest,
they kind of followed her lead. "
In her rare off-hours, Boarman works
at a restaurant in Warsaw, where she
In March 2016, Southside Virginia Community College's
(SVCC) Power Line Worker Training School opened its
doors to aspiring lineworkers in Virginia.
Now, just a few years later, it has become a breeding ground
for a new generation of lineworkers.
The first of its kind in the commonwealth, the pre-training
school was launched through a public-private partnership
between the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of
Electric Cooperatives (VMDAEC); SVCC; the Virginia
Community College System; the Virginia Foundation for
Community College Education and the Rural Virginia
Horseshoe Initiative.
The school has sent 12 separate training classes into the
lineworker trade and is recognized as one of SVCC's
occupational and technical success stories, says college
President Dr. Quentin R. Johnson.
" The SVCC Power Line Worker Training School recently
Randy Crocker is coordinator at the
Power Line Worker Training School.
reached an impressive milestone. We celebrated our 250th
graduate. This program and its success would never have
been possible without the support and strong partnership
of the VMDAEC, " Johnson said. " Thanks to VMDAEC and
the many member organizations! "
The comprehensive program spans 11 weeks and includes
pole climbing; pole-top rescue; power line repairs; electrical
circuits; rigging, setting and pulling poles; electrical test
14 | Cooperative Living | January 2020
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Cooperative Living January 2020

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