North Carolina Energy News

FAIRLY SOON. ENERGY UNITED HOSTED A LINEMAN CAMP FOR AREA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TODAY. THE CAMP IS DESIGNED TO ENERGIZE STUDENTS WHO MAY BE INTERESTED IN THE FIELD. CHRIS PETERSEN SPOKE TO STUDENTS AND ENERGY UNITED WORKERS ABOUT THE PROGRAM. THESE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM DAVIDSON AND DAVIE COUNTIES ARE LEARNING WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A SKILLED LINEMAN. BRANDON WOOD IS A SENIOR AT DAVIE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL. WOOD ADMITS HES A BIT OF AN ADRENALINE JUNKIE AND LOVES THE EVERYDAY ADVENTURES THAT GO ALONG WITH BEING A LINEMAN. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT EACH DAY IS GOING TO GET. WHATEVER YOURE GOING TO GET, ITS JUST SOMETHING DIFFERENT EVERY DAY. ITS AN EXCITING ADVENTURE AND I LIKE ADVENTURES. AS WELL. OH, THE LINEMAN CAMP IS A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN ENERGY UNITED AND THE CAREER AND. TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS AT LOCAL SCHOOL SYSTEMS. THE PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO TEACH STUDENTS WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A SKILLED LINEMAN. YOU KNOW, IT TAKES SOMEBODY WILLING TO WORK OUTSIDE ALL KINDS OF WEATHER. YOU KNOW, WERE OUT HERE WHEN ITS COLD, WHEN ITS HOT, WHEN ITS RAINING, WHEN ITS SNOWY. UM, SO IT TAKES A LOT OF DEDICATION AND LOTS OF ENERGY. YOU GOT TO BE FIT PHYSICALLY. AND MENTALLY. YOU WORK LONG HOURS, YOU NEVER KNOW. YOU GET A PHONE CALL IN THE. MIDDLE OF NIGHT. YOU GOT TO GO FIX SOMEONES POWER, WHICH IS REALLY COOL BECAUSE YOU ALSO GET TO HELP PEOPLE AND SORT OF SENSE OF IT. AND ITS REAL SIMPLE. STUDENTS ARE LEARNING HOW TO CLIMB. POLES, WORK FUZES, AND FIX TRANSFORMERS. ITS ALL IN AN EFFORT TO ATTRACT INTEREST TO A PROFESSION THAT NEEDS SKILLED WORKERS, NOT AS MANY PEOPLE ARE GETTING INTO THE PROFESSION AS THEY USED TO. OBVIOUSLY, OUR EXISTING LINEMEN ARE GETTING A LITTLE BIT OLDER. UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, FORTUNATELY, THE COMMUNITY COLLEGES AROUND HERE HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB. OF STARTING UP SOME LINEMAN SCHOOLS, BUILDING THE INTEREST. AND THATS REALLY WHAT WERE DOING HERE TODAY IS WOOD SAYS HE WAS SHOCKED AT EVERYTHING THAT IS INVOLVED IN BEING A LINEMAN AND LOVES THE HANDS ON EXPERIENCE. THIS CAMP BRINGS. OH, THIS IS AWESOME. ESPECIALLY AT DAVIE KENNEDY. HIGH SCHOOL. WE HAVE AN AMAZING CTE PROGRAM, A LOT OF HANDS ON EXPERIENCE THAT YOU CAN GO ON AROUND THERE AND JUST JOBS LIKE THIS AND LEARNING HANDS ON. I THINK EVERYBODY SHOULD DO SOMETHING HANDS ON FOR A LITTLE BIT. SO ONE DAY WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT AT YOUR HOME, IT MAY BE A STUDENT FROM THIS CAMP THAT HELPS CUT THEM BACK