Geoffrey Beck, of Mayfield, Russ Kirby, of Mayfield, Jordan Todd, of Bardwell and Zach Underhill, of Murray, all competed on behalf of West Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative. Beck was awarded Second Place Overall Apprentice, Second Place in the Pole Climb competition and Third Place in the Replace Guy Wire Competition. Kirby was awarded Third Place Overall Apprentice. 

This year marks the eighth year for the Kentucky Lineman’s Rodeo, sponsored by the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives and held to showcase and reward excellence in the field of line work. Individuals and teams compete and are judged on safety, skill and knowledge of their field.    

“It is almost unheard of for first year competitors to rank as high as ours did this year.  We are very proud of these young guys for training so hard and for focusing their efforts on learning the proper safety techniques,” said Kim Grogan, director safety health and environmental.  “Russ Kirby is our veteran apprentice and I am very proud that he won such a high honor as well.  Our linemen as a whole are showing a commitment to their craft and to safety that is among the best in the state and I’m glad to see those efforts rewarded.”   

The linemen competed against 37 other apprentice linemen from across the state in the event, held July 26-27 at the headquarters of Owen Electric Cooperative in Owenton, KY.

The West Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation, Inc. is a member-owned Cooperative that provides power to more than 31,000 members in Western Kentucky.  Headquartered in Mayfield, Ky., the cooperative is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative and a distributor of Tennessee Valley Authority power.  Additional information can be found at www.wkrecc.com.