Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Held at Meadow Event Park in Doswell and sponsored by the Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives (VDM), the Gaff-n-Go Lineworker Rodeo is one of the country’s largest regional competitions. The rodeo attracts journeyman and apprentice teams from electric cooperatives, investor-owned utilities and contractors.

This year’s event was held May 19-20, and Southside Electric Cooperative (SEC) employees not only participated, but they brought home top awards. SEC took first place in Overall VMD Cooperative, Climbing Skills Demonstration, 4KV Primary Insulator Change Out and the Gaff-n-Grill challenge for “Anything but Butts.” Cooperative employees scored a second place in Hurt Man Rescue and a third place in Overall Journeyman Team.

The rodeo provides lineworkers the opportunity to compete in a challenging environment and demonstrate the required skills used in the field every day. Now in its 19th year, this year’s event saw record crowds with 200 lineworkers and 107 apprentices participating from across the country, as far away as California.

SEC’s journeyman participants were Scott Geovannello, Will Southworth, Kevin Greenawalt, Tommy Byrd, Trevor Robertson, Hunter Cline, Blake Crouch, Greg Ayers and Jeremy Cranford.

Cooperative apprentices taking part were Jacob Campbell, Shane Baldwin and Cody Roark.

Grilling for SEC on three Gaff-n-Grill teams were Scott Wallace, Tony Kemp, B.K. Redford, Ben Simmons, Bobby Moseley, Andy Haynes, Wayne Paulett, Adam Weaver, Chase Guy, Branden Hinton and Cheston Bowlin.

In addition, Joshua Wells and Darryl Dinwiddie served as judges for the competition.