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CEO Column: Lineworker Appreciation 2025


CEO Column: Lineworkers are our neighborhood heroes

April 1, 2025

When you think of Trico we hope that you think of excellent service, great reliability and value, and the fact that you are a Member of our not-for-profit cooperative. We also hope that you think of our Lineworkers.

We have a great team at Trico, full of caring, expert, and service-focused employees in every department. Still, at the heart of our cooperative are the Lineworkers who you see working out in the communities we serve, building and upgrading our system, and responding to make repairs when needed.

Lineworker Appreciation Day occurs annually in April, and this year it is on April 14th. It is an opportunity to reflect on the essential role our Lineworkers play in our community and in our daily lives. It can be easy to take it for granted that the power will be there when you need it, but it takes a team of people to make that happen. This year I thought I would share some details on what makes Lineworkers essential and how their dedication supports us all.

Our Lineworkers start their day before sunrise, working through their day clad in flame-resistant clothing, safety goggles, rubber gloves, and heavy boots. It is not the most comfortable uniform, but it helps protect them from the hazards of working with high-voltage facilities. Our crews take safety seriously, making sure that no matter the task they are taking the proper precautions. They are also focused on making sure their co-workers are working safely. You will hear the terms “brother’s keeper” and “sister’s keeper” used often, as a signal that each person has a duty to help keep their teammates safe.

Trico’s crews travel across our large service territory, building, maintaining and repairing our system. As our system grows more complex and new technologies are added, our crews learn, innovate, and adapt to ensure they have the expertise to support a modern grid. Their extraordinary skills ensure our homes remain connected to the grid, businesses stay operational, and emergency services remain accessible.

They are the definition of dedication throughout the year, and during the summer our crews work long hours to minimize the impact of monsoon storms by responding at all hours to make repairs, even in difficult conditions. Whether repairing storm-ravaged power lines or ensuring continuity during emergencies, their strong commitment ensures power is flowing when we need it most.

Trico Lineworkers also answer the call beyond the borders of Trico’s service territory. Our crews have traveled to support fellow co-ops across the state (and even outside the state) when widespread emergencies and outages have occurred, and additional support is needed. We have also called on our partners across the state in times of need. Cooperation among cooperatives is one of our guiding principles, and no one embodies this better than Lineworkers.

At our office we have a large room where the Lineworkers meet, complete their administrative tasks, and attend training classes. The walls of that room are covered with posters expressing messages of thanks from our employees and Members for our Lineworkers’ efforts during storms, wildfires, and everyday challenges. It is our co-op’s way of recognizing the often heroic work the Lineworkers perform.

This month we invite you, our Members, to help us in celebrating the remarkable men and women who ensure reliable power, and recognize their steadfast dedication to our community.

Thank you to our Lineworkers and thank you for being a valued Trico Member!

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2024 Lineworkers Rodeo


State Rodeo gives lineworkers a chance to show of their skills

December 1, 2024

Around 50 Apprentice Lineworkers from electric cooperatives and electric districts across Arizona competed in the state Lineworkers Rodeo on October 29, 2024 at Trico. It was Trico’s first time hosting the event.

“We witnessed incredible skill and teamwork in action,” Trico CEO & GM Brian Heithoff said. “The event showcased not only technical expertise required in our line of work, but also the camaraderie that defines our industry. The rodeo allowed Trico to shine.”

The rodeo is a unique competition event designed to help lineworkers compete safely, as well as showcase their physical ability and technical skills. The competition included an obstacle course, hurt-man rescue, written exam, mystery event, and two team events – installing an overhead secondary and cross‑arm change out.

Trico Apprentice Lineworker Conor Garcia won the Obstacle Course event in a time of

4 minutes and 19 seconds. “We’ve been doing a lot of training. It was nice to be rewarded for all the hard work.”

Conor said this year’s event was well organized. “Everyone I talked to said it was a blast. It was nice having it here and having everyone cheering for us.”

Trico’s Anthony Anaya placed second in the Hurt-Man Rescue, just 5 seconds behind winner Efren Gallego of Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative (SSVEC). Trico’s Matt Ward finished second in the Mystery Event and third in Hurt‑Man Rescue and the Obstacle Course. Conor, with Joseph Brandt of SSVEC, placed second overall in the team events. Trico’s Troy Mead and Shelbey Joel Fulton of SSVEC finished fifth in the team events.

Lisandra Teran, Records Management Specialist at Trico, said watching the Lineworker Rodeo was a great experience. “Getting to see them in their element and support them at their competitions was fun. They take great pride in their work and have a great culture of teamwork.”

“It was such a great experience to be able to see our apprentices in action, doing what they do every day. It was extra special for me watching my son (Tyler Hornung) compete,” Yoli Lazos said.

Trico will be hosting the 2025 Arizona Lineworker Rodeo April 14–16.

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Light Up Navajo Humbling Experience


Light Up Navajo is humbling experience for Trico lineworkers

August 1, 2024

For the second year in a row, Trico sent line crews to a remote area of the Navajo Nation to participate in the Light Up Navajo program. This mutual-aid program began in 2019 to extend electricity to homes without power.

Trico lineworkers Anthony Anaya, Bryan English, Joe Tsethlikai, Martin Mares, Matt Ward and Troy Mead spent two weeks working in Naschitti, New Mexico to bring power to those in need.

“I’ll go back every year until everyone has electricity or I’m dead,” English said. “I’m happy to give back.”

Trico’s crews built 3.5 miles of line and put up 40 poles to feed power to nine homes. “The conditions were not great,” Tsethlikai said. “We had to use special pressure diggers. It took one to two hours to dig one hole. For the people to live there without power is mind blowing.”

Tsethlikai said they met an 80-year-old Vietnam War veteran who never had electricity except for his time in the Marines. 

“This is history in the making,” Tsethlikai said. “This is generational. We’re not just bringing power to these nine homes. This is something that is going to be there forever. Their children and future generations will benefit from what we’re doing.”

Brian Heithoff, Trico CEO/GM said, “The work to provide the residents of the Navajo Nation a reliable source of energy is vital to providing them a brighter future, and reflects the co-op spirit that helped electrify Trico’s service territory starting almost 80 years ago.”

Ward said he was honored to be selected to participate in Light Up Navajo. “It was an extremely humbling experience. You would never guess that people still to this day continue to live without what we consider to be basic necessities, such as running water, electricity, etc. To know that I was able to be a part of changing someone’s life by providing power alone is very honoring. The work experience along with meeting the homeowners is amazing. They taught us the Navajo language and they are some of the friendliest people.”

Anaya said “the whole experience made me grateful for the life I live with my family and everything Trico has provided for me. Hopefully I get the opportunity to do it again next year.”

Ann Nadeau thanked Trico for “what you are doing for the Navajo Nation. These residents need to be cool. The crews are heroes.”

Trico was the first cooperative in the state of Arizona to participate in the mutual-aid program last year. According to the American Public Power Association, of the approximately 55,000 homes on the Navajo Nation, nearly 14,000 still do not have electricity. They represent 75% of all U.S. households without power.

Learn more at https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/03/us/navajo-nation-power-grid-connection/index.html

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Outage Restoration Process


What really happens when the lights go out

July 1, 2024

Ever wondered how power gets restored after an outage? Let’s take a closer look at what happens behind the scenes:

  1. Teamwork: From frontline representatives to field operatives, everyone works together to get the power restored as quickly and safely as possible.
  2. Assessment: Each time the power goes out, crews take a good look to see what’s broken and figure out the best way to fix it.
  3. Safety First: Safety is always the top priority. Crews make sure to watch out for anything that could cause harm.
  4. Understanding Flickering Lights: Flickering lights indicate that our equipment is working to prevent bigger problems.
  5. Being Prepared: If you rely on power for life support purposes, you must have a backup plan in case the power stays out longer than expected. We encourage Members to complete our Life-Sustaining Equipment Form, which is available on our website at trico.coop/outages.
  6. Working Together: Our portion of the power grid is connected to other electric utilities, so we maintain positive relationships with other power providers to get things back to normal as quickly as possible.

Restoring power is a group effort aimed at your safety and keeping your electricity running smoothly. We’re dedicated to doing our best for you. So, when the lights go out, rest assured we’re diligently working to restore your power and provide you with uninterrupted service.


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Apprentice Lineworkers Participate in State Rodeo


Apprentice Lineworkers show off their skills at the state rodeo

January 1, 2024

Congratulations to our Apprentice Lineworkers Anthony Anaya, Colby Brown, Conor Garcia, Tyler Hornung, Martin Mares, Troy Mead and Matt Ward for their effort at the Arizona Lineworkers Rodeo hosted by Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative (SSVEC) November 7–8 in Benson.

The competition put 43 lineworkers through a series of challenges, beginning with a written test assessing their knowledge before heading outdoors. The hurt-man rescue drill is designed to emulate an on-site emergency where a lineworker lowers a fellow lineworker, a victim played by a life-size dummy.

There’s a technical obstacle course, a mystery event, and two team events, to install an overhead secondary, and cross‑arm change‑out. All events are designed to reinforce fundamental skills, safety, and challenge the resourcefulness of each apprentice.

Tyler finished third overall in individual events. Colby had the fastest time in the Mystery Event and placed fourth in the Obstacle Course. Conor and Colby finished third and fourth respectively in the Hurt-Man Rescue. Team Trico also placed well in the team events.

“The State Rodeo this year was great,” Martin said. “Having all seven apprentices there was a huge help, from helping each other out on events, letting each other know what to look for on the mystery event and having them there cheering each other on was a great experience.”

Martin’s favorite event was hurt-man rescue. “Having this event in the rodeo makes us work on our climbing and perfecting our rescue also,” he said. 

We are proud to see our Apprentice Lineworkers’ commitment to safety, learning and serving our Members. Great work, team Trico!

Hector Acuna of The Herald Review contributed to this story.

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Apprentices Gain Experience at Lineman’s Rodeo


Apprentices Gain Experience at Lineman’s Rodeo

January 24, 2023

Apprentice linemen Tyler Hornung, Martin Mares and Shem Scott had a great time learning and competing against apprentices from other state electric cooperatives and utilities at the Arizona Lineman Rodeo in November.

The Lineman Rodeo is an event created to offer lineworkers a way to showcase their pride in their profession. The event is composed of volunteers devoted to the promotion of educational and electrical safety activities, including, but not limited to, the continued education of lineworkers, building relationships of trust, teaching teamwork techniques, sharing of ideas to bring innovation to the industry, and networking that will foster better working relationships between utilities. Martin said the Lineman Rodeo was a great experience. “I met a lot of apprentices at different steps of the apprenticeship. It was great camaraderie.”

Martin said his favorite events were the Hurtman Rescue and the Obstacle Course. He said both events make you a better climber. “The Hurtman Rescue makes you practice over and over on what needs to be done if you ever need to rescue someone hurt on the pole. The obstacle course helps you find what works better for you on installing or replacing material on the pole.”

Crew leader Jeremy Konski, who volunteered as a judge for the rodeo, said Tyler, Martin and Shem did well for their first rodeo. “Overall, it was a great experience, and we look forward to next year,” he said.

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