Cooperative Living January 2020 - 3

InsideStory
From afar, I spotted the pink gloves and
the thick blonde braid cascading down from
under her white safety helmet.
During almost 20
years of working for
Cooperative Living, I've
interviewed my fair
share of lineworkers -
from young, passionate
linemen to seasoned,
stalwart linemen.
But I'd never
interviewed a female
lineworker, or even a
female aspiring to become a lineworker.
I didn't know what to expect.
As Genevie Boarman, the subject of
this issue's cover story, approached me in
back of Southside Virginia Community
College's Power Line Worker Training
School in Blackstone, I made a few
observations. I noticed her blonde hair,
blue eyes, dimples and her perfect,
white teeth.
Then when she spoke of the work she's
grown to love, I observed an undeniable
confidence. She was just one of them, one
of the guys, there to achieve the same
thing: to learn the skills needed to keep
our lights on.
And it's OK if people think she's " pretty "
while she does it.
Genevie has proven herself fully capable.
She was more than just a young woman
who showed up to a training school
where only two other women have trained.
Every one of her peers that I met
acknowledged she was as skilled as they
were, if not more so.
As a mother of two young girls, it was
meaningful to meet a woman capable and
committed to crushing the notion that line
work is man's work. In fact, when Genevie
described the moment she decided to
pursue a line career at a lineman's rodeo,
I had a flashback to when I was with my
three young children at the same event
she attended. I remember my four-year-old,
peering up at the linemen on the poles
through her little pastel purple glasses,
turning to me and asking, " Mommy, where
are the girls? "
Indeed, where are the girls?
After spending the day with Genevie, I
believe she'll end up at the lineman's rodeo
later on down the road - and it'd be nice
for little girls to see women scaling new
heights and proving that line work is for
anyone with the pluck and passion to do it.
- Laura Emery, Field Editor
co-opliving.com
READER PHOTO: ERICA CASHION, AMELIA, VA
OUR MISSION
To inform you about your cooperative and its efforts to serve your energy needs;
how to use electricity safely and efficiently; and the people who define and enhance
the quality of life in communities served by electric co-ops.
CONTENTS
12 Cover story
Genevie Boarman, a recent graduate of Southside Virginia Community
College's Power Line Worker Training School, is poised to potentially
become Virginia's first female lineworker. Cover photo by Laura Emery.
20 Declaration of Independence
Not all historic engravings are created equal. Ben Marchi owns a rare
1818 engraved version of the Declaration of Independence and gladly
exhibits the 200-year-old document out of reverence for its sacred words.
30 Crossroads
Clover Hill, a community located a few miles east of Harrisonburg, is home to more
than just a beloved baseball team and a respected volunteer fire unit; it's a place
also known for its friendly people and its picturesque Shenandoah Valley views.
Cooperative Living shared:
RUFF MORNING? Reader
Susan Mellang-Gay sent us
this adorable photo of her
Yorkie, UB, in his winter
headgear.
DEPARTMENTS
2
4
8
Viewpoint
Mailbag
6 Say Cheese
7
Training Tracks
Member FYI
10 Building Community
Visit us online at:
co-opliving.com
PHOTO BY
LAURA EMERY
Winter is a season
of recovery
and preparation.
- Paul Theroux
cooperativeliving posted:
SVCC's Power Line Worker
School graduated 29
young people on Nov. 21.
#powerlineworker #svcc
#keepthelightson
11 Happenings
16 Garden Muse
18 Kids' Korner
34 Energy Sense
36 Cooperative Kitchen
40 Rural Living
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January 2020 | Cooperative Living | 1
CHECK OUT
Youth Art Contest
Information
on page 11.
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Cooperative Living January 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living January 2020
