Appreciating Lineworkers
Pioneer’s workers keep the lights on with their families’ support
Every April, the electric utility industry celebrates Lineworker Appreciation Month. It serves as an opportunity to show our appreciation for those men and women who work hard every day to keep your lights on and the community safe.
Pioneer Electric Cooperative is incredibly thankful and appreciative for the service their lineworkers provide to more than 17,000 members every single day.
“Electric linemen don’t often get the recognition they should,” says Steve McClay, director of operations and safety at Pioneer. “It’s a job that requires you to work all hours of the day, in every weather condition, and often interrupts holidays, birthdays and other plans.”
On nights and weekends, outage calls have a tendency to come at less-than-ideal times, but as many lineworkers will attest, being a lineworker is not a just a job but a lifestyle, and it is a lifestyle they couldn’t live without the tremendous support of those at home.
“When you have a strong support system, you know that you can trust the people who have embraced your job. They know you may be working long hours, day or night,” says John Holcomb, who has worked as a serviceman and lineman at Pioneer for 27 years. “It’s less stressful knowing while you’re gone that the household will be running as usual.”
One of Holcomb’s favorite memories of the support of his wife, Jan, was when he had the opportunity to go on a humanitarian trip to Guatemala in 2020 to help provide power to people who never had electricity before. After working many long days, Holcomb’s trip was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even through the minimal communication for 15 days and uncertainty of when Holcomb would return as air travel was restricted, his wife was there to receive his calls and support him through it all.
“My wife waited patiently for my call at the end of the day, every day,” says Holcomb. “The trip was cut short due to COVID and my wife was there to greet me, with my granddaughter, when I got home.”
Holcomb’s wife, family, and friends understand that he may not always attend holiday parties or participate in certain events on a particular date, but he always tries to make it up to them.
“My wife is used to not knowing what time of the day I will be home, especially when I’m running trouble [calls],” says Holcomb. “It’s a relief to me knowing that she’s able to keep things running smoothly without complaining and always waiting for me to walk in the door, safe and sound.”
Pioneer lineworker David Overman, who has been with Pioneer for two years but has been a lineworker for 15
years, echoed those feelings.
“My wife, Krista, is the most important tier of my support structure, and without her understanding and taking on the extra stress at home, it would not be possible for me to do this job,” says Overman. “It is essential to have a great support system in order to keep the home operating while I am out working. It allows me to keep my mind on the task at hand. I am thankful to know that my family is well taken care of.”
The Overmans, who have three young children, try to celebrate holidays on days off and birthday parties are planned around David’s on-call schedule.
“They celebrate some occasions without me being present,” says Overman. “But I feel blessed that my family supports me in my career, and they understand that this is what it takes to support our family.”
In 2022, Pioneer lineworkers recorded more than 5,800 overtime hours, and Holcomb and Overman were among
those with the highest overtime hours. Pioneer also provided mutual aid to other co-ops during four different events. Holcomb and Overman were part of that effort, too, with multiple nights away from home. But they knew they didn’t need to worry and looked forward to the reunion when they returned.
Whether it’s the eruption of excitement from Overman’s children when he returns home after a long night of restoring outages or the handwritten notes and drawings he finds in his suitcase while away on a mutual aid trip, there’s nothing more gratifying than knowing his family supports him every day.
“The absolute best part of working late hours is the grand welcome that I receive when I get home and my children are all awake,” says Overman. “I get almost tackled by the hugs as soon as I step in the door.”
