Thank a Lineman Guestbook
Thank a Lineman
Comment below to say thank you to all the linemen.
CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYEE OF THE QUARTER – David McGee
A few words from David
I like to say I started with Irby when I was born in 1970 as my dad Lawrence McGee worked for Irby most of my life. I remember moving three times a year and saying I will never do this for a living. Never say never.
I actually started working for Irby in the late 80’s – early 90’s in the summer time working as a groundman while I was going to school. Working in 110 degree temperatures in Arizona and the swamps of Mississippi helped me decide to return to school each fall.
I started my career in 1991 when I started working in the office in Redding CA, under Randy Berry. Charles Gatewood was the Superintendent. Since then I worked all over the United States including Alaska. I have worked on just about every type of job Irby has had – Transmission, Distribution & Cell towers. I think I have worked with about every Superintendent Irby has had in the last twenty years, too many to list, but I enjoyed working with every one of them.
I am currently working in Comfort, TX, under Rick Shouse helping take care of the Texas Region. I also get to work with other Superintendents – Robert Barfield, Pat Shouse, Tommy Jinks and Gary Thornton – on a regular basis. I learn something from all these guys on a daily basis.
I enjoy spending time with my two children, Zack, who is attending University of Mississippi and Cassie, who will be a junior in High School next year. I also enjoy all types of sports and playing golf when possible.
I would like to dedicate this to Horace Amason who I have known since I started my career back in 1991, and if it wasn’t for him I might not even be here working today. Out of all the many things I learned from Horace, two of the most important things I learned were how to be a professional and always try to have the company’s best interest at heart. I hope he is resting in peace.
I consider myself very lucky as I get to go to work every day at a job I love and work with great people – few people can say that.
FIELD NOTES – SPRING 2015
…From Oklahoma
Hey there from Oklahoma AEP Projects! For the last month or so, Jobs 1732 and 1798 have been working on building an ark. Not really, but if this rain keeps up, we’re gonna need to. So far for the month of May we’ve received anywhere from 13 to 20 inches of rain! Our ROWs have turned into lakes and rivers! Despite the horrible weather our crews have been working extremely hard to continue meeting deadlines. Currently Job 1732 is a few structures short of clipping out to meeting their June 1st deadline. These guys have worked a lot of days and hours the past couple of months to get this done and we appreciate all their hard work. Also, Carl Bell recently joined Tom Mehlin and Randy Franks on Job 1732 and we’re more than happy to have him back with the AEP family.
Job 1798 has been busy as well. They worked two storms since we last checked in. They had a crew repairing poles due to wild fires in Woodward, OK, with Tommy Jinks and upon completion, headed straight to Sand Springs, OK, for tornado damage repairs. They are currently working on a little over 5 miles of line through the heart of Tulsa with 3.5 miles of distribution under build. About 1.5 miles of the distribution is double circuit with the rest single circuit. Bobby Jones and a crew of 5 joined them a couple of days ago and we appreciate them making the trip to help out.
And last but not least we want to thank all of our crews for their hard work and dedication. We’ve got a great group of guys and gals throughout Oklahoma AEP! Cheers to everyone and y’all be safe!
…From the Shenandoah Valley and Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
We managed to make it through an unusually cold and snowy winter for the Shenandoah Valley area. Locals here say it’s been many years since they had a winter like the one we just experienced. We didn’t dare explain to them that Irby has a history of bringing odd weather with them. Weather and scheduling notwithstanding, Project Supt Mike Dietz led the crew to a successful completion of Phase One. The first 24 miles of 500 kV with a 230 kV under-build is complete. Key to the success was the assistance of Superintendent Joel Votaw and his crew from Canada and Superintendent Rufus Killen and his crew from Maine. These two Superintendents brought their wire crews to Virginia and pulled, sagged, clipped and spaced a lot of wire in a short period of time. Phase One was energized on May 30.
The outage for Phase Two in September will be here before we know it. All the crews here have worked some long hours the last few months and are looking forward to a little more time off during the summer to enjoy the mountains and the history of the area.
Congratulations to Jeremy Compton and his wife Bethanie on the birth of their daughter, Irelyn Grace Compton, on March 11, 2015. The beautiful girl weighed in at 8 lbs. 2 oz.
Until next time, be smart and work safe.
WELCOME TO THE TEAM KRISTI & JEFF
Irby Construction is pleased to announce the addition of two new staff members in our corporate office.
KRISTI PITTS
Human Resource Specialist
“I have been working professionally since 2010. A lifelong Mississippian, I graduated from Mississippi State University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing and Risk Management, Insurance and Financial Planning.I have an undying passion for the MSU Bulldogs and love traveling and visiting with my friends and family. I currently volunteer my time serving as Vice President Communication Alumni Advisor with Pi Beta Phi Fraternity. I live in Florence, Mississippi, with my husband, Jack.”
JEFF DREYER
Director of Operations, Substations
“I entered the trade as an apprentice electrician in 1977, the same year I married my beautiful bride. I have not left the industry from then working as an engineer, estimator, project manager, operations manager, and director. I have 6 children, 3 biological and 3 adopted. I also have 5 horses, a plethora of barn cats, and an Alaskan Malamute. I have lived in most of the western states and enjoy fly fishing all over, including Alaska. I love to travel and have visited Africa, Europe, South America, Canada and Alaska.”