GUYTON — Several Marlow Elementary School students donned thick rubber gloves during a hands-on learning experience Thursday.

A local Georgia Power line crew complete with bucket truck and equipment visited the school for a “Touch-a-Truck” session and discuss how STEM education plays into the important work linemen do to keep power flowing safely across the state. The event was in conjunction with nationally recognized Lineman Appreciation Day.

“Whether it is a historic hurricane, a summer storm or a fallen tree that knocks out power, our linemen work as quickly and safely as possible to get the power back on for our 2.6 million customers across Georgia,” said Pedro Cherry, executive vice president of customer service and operations for Georgia Power. “That’s why we are proud to recognize them and show our appreciation not just this month, but everyday.”

Randall Tucker, Benji Hildebrandt, Bobby Brigdon and Cole Harrison were in the Marlow spotlight.

Tucker, a crew supervisor, asked the students, “Does anybody know what these guys do on a daily basis?”

After getting a soft reply from the captivated audience, he said, “That’s right. When the lights out, these are the guys that are responsible for getting the lights back on."

Hildebrandt, Brigdon and Harrison showed the students the tools of their trade, including heavy gloves, a rubber blanket and a line hose.

“These are rubber gloves that we have to wear when we are working on the power lines,” Brigdon said. “They keep us from getting electrocuted so they are something we have to wear everyday.”

“They are hot,” he added later.

The tool that got far and away the most attention was the crew’s electric bucket lift, which carried Harrison nearly 100 feet into the air and could have gone much higher. The students shielded their eyes from the bright sun as they watched Harrison rise into the blue sky.

Many students screamed, “I want to ride! I want to ride!”  

When Harrison returned to Earth, he politely told the children that he couldn’t let them inside the bucket. He remained in it for several minutes as they peppered him with questions.

“These guys work lots of overtime and they spend lots of time away from home in different areas and different states.,” Tucker said. “It’s a lot of time away from home.” 

Georgia Power linemen can travel thousands of miles each year and can spend weeks in the field helping restore power to customers as far away as New York and Houston. The company has received recognition from the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) for outstanding emergency response, including multiple Emergency Recovery Awards and the Emergency Assistance Award. 

In 2018, the third-strongest hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. in modern recorded history, Hurricane Michael, crossed through the state, with the hardest hit areas in Southwest Georgia. To complete restoration as quickly and safely as possible, more than 5,800 personnel and crews from Georgia Power, other Southern Company operating companies and assisting utilities worked around the clock to fully restore power to more than 422,000 customers. They replaced approximately 2,000 broken or damaged power poles and nearly 220 miles of wire (4,800 spans) and cleared more than 1,200 fallen trees that caused damage. 

Georgia residents did not wait for the seventh National Lineman Appreciation Day to say thanks. Roadsides, parking lots and social media “lit up” in the days following the storm with signs and letters of appreciation for the workers’ fast responses. 

“A lot of times, we work the coldest days of the year and the hottest days of the year,” Hildebrandt said. “When it’s raining, we work all the time just to keep your lights on.”

The students showed their appreciation by presenting the linemen a basket loaded with snacks.