Cooperative Living July 2020 - 6

TrainingTracks
'It's My World'
Kory Settle is not far from home. A native of Rappahannock
County, Va., he's a lineworker at his local electric cooperative.
Kory has been a regular at the annual Gaff-n-Go Rodeo,
recording the highest score among apprentices in CPR at
the 2017 events and placing second among apprentices
in the cutout relocate competition in 2019.
Becoming a lineworker: " I came out of high school. I'd done a little
electrical work on the side. I went straight into doing electrical work
in Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Gaithersburg, Md. I looked and
found a lineworker position that was open at Rappahannock Electric
Cooperative and I jumped right on it. "
What he likes best about his job: " I love being outside, love the outdoors.
It's my world. So I have been loving this job ever since. "
What he's learning: " We've been learning reconducting outside. We just
Our Training Tracks feature spotlights a lineworker
from an electric cooperative. Training is conducted
at the Electric Cooperative Training Center in Palmyra,
Va. The state-of-the-art facility is an ideal learning
environment to serve the needs of lineworkers,
system operators, substation operators and other
co-op representatives.
Changing Lives:
Power Line Worker
Program Makes
a Difference
ulie Thompson Manning was
concerned about her youngest
son, Charlie. Coming out of high
school in Midlothian, Va., he was still
looking for the right path to follow.
His one passion was climbing, whether
it was on an indoor rock wall or with
friends in the West Virginia mountains.
The answer came in the mailbox.
A 2018 feature story on the Gaff-nGo
Lineworker's Rodeo in Cooperative
Living caught the eye of Manning,
whose family had recently moved to
Southside Electric Cooperative territory
in Powhatan.
" This would be perfect for Charlie.
He could climb for a living. Yes, he
would have to be interested in this! "
Manning recalls thinking.
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Manning invited her son to lunch -
" food is a great motivator, " she notes.
She showed him a video about the
Power Line Worker Training School
at Southside Virginia Community
College, a program created with the
help of electric cooperatives in Virginia,
Maryland and Delaware.
Two weeks later, he asked for
contact information and enrolled in
the 11-week course that provides a
foundation for a career in the electric
lineworker industry. He excelled at
the school and was employed even
before graduation day.
" Can you imagine the joy I felt? "
his mother asks, saying her son has a
career he loves. " This all came from a
move to the country, from a magazine
that happened to be in my mailbox,
to a picture of a man on a pole, to a
shared lunch, to a video that changed
a life forever. "
Today, Charlie, 21, works for the
city of Estes Park, Colo., where he
can climb the Rockies and utility poles
to his heart's content. His mom gives
a big shoutout to SVCC for helping
a boy become a man.
" He tells me often how much
the people of Estes Park admire
the lineworkers and all they do to
keep the electricity flowing in their
mountain city, " Manning says. 
Want to motivate your son or daughter
similarly? Check out southside.edu/
power-line-worker.
co-opliving.com
Kory Settle
* Rappahannock Electric Cooperative
* Works in REC's Western Region
* Been with REC for about 4 years
* Graduate of Rappahannock Co. H.S.
reconducted a three-phase line. We set two anchors and
learned about different anchor systems. Overall, we've been
learning about call centers. It's not that different from what
we do day-to-day, but it's a refresher when we come here.
It teaches us different things, too. It teaches us teamwork,
being around other companies and seeing the way they
do things. "
About the training center: " The facility is very nice. It's
definitely a big upgrade from the last one. We went from
a double-wide to a hotel real quickly. " 
Read about the training center at vmdaec.com/pr/trainingschool.
http://www.vmdaec.com/pr/trainingschool http://www.southside.edu/ http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living July 2020

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