Worth The Recognition

Every April, we celebrate Lineworker Appreciation Month. I may be biased, but I think Cherryland has the best of the best working for our members. And if you’ve ever watched our crews work in sideways rain or knee-deep snow, you know why.

When the wind is howling, our lineworkers are in a bucket truck, repairing damaged lines and poles, and restoring power with calm precision. It’s demanding work. It’s dangerous work. And it’s work they approach with deep professionalism and care for the members we serve.

Around here, safety isn’t a slogan. It’s a discipline. It’s the morning tailboard conversation. It’s the double-check. It’s the willingness to slow down when conditions demand it. Last year, we had no significant lost-time accidents. That doesn’t happen by chance. It happens because our crews live safety every single day with one clear goal: everyone goes home.

The same discipline that keeps our crews safe is what keeps your lights on. Pole by pole. Mile by mile. Because they do the job right the first time, Cherryland members experience roughly one-third of the outage time of the statewide average. And when outages do occur, no one works harder to get the lights on than our team.

That kind of performance is built deliberately by a lean, focused team that knows its mission. In fact, we serve more members per employee than almost any co-op in the country. That efficiency only works because every person on our team takes ownership of reliability and safety. Some run to the field. Some run to the office. All run toward the storm.

Please join me in recognizing our lineworkers this month—for their skill, their discipline, and their unwavering commitment to safety and service.

When most people picture a lineworker, they think about the obvious parts of the job—climbing poles, working storms, long hours in tough conditions. And those things are true. But they don’t tell the whole story.

What makes a good lineworker isn’t just strength or technical skill. It’s attention to detail. The kind that isn’t something you switch on at work; it’s part of who you are. Our lineworkers notice when something looks different, when a sound is off, when a piece of equipment isn’t behaving quite the way it should. That awareness is what keeps them safe and helps them manage situations where the margin for error is critical.

There’s also a level of pride that’s harder to explain. Lineworkers tend to see their work like craftsmanship. Every install, every repair, every rebuild carries their signature, even if no one else ever notices. They do the job as if their name is at the bottom of it.

And when the power goes out, they take that personally too. It’s not uncommon for someone to cut a vacation short or step in on a day off because they know neighbors are waiting. For our crews at Cherryland, this work isn’t just a job. It’s a responsibility they carry with them all the time.

Our lineworkers stand out in ways that don’t always make headlines. They simply do the right thing, over and over again. It’s something our members can be proud of—because we certainly are.