Thank You to Our Lineworkers and Families

By Chrystal Dean, Chief Executive Officer

A black and white photo, circa early 1900s, hangs in my office. It captures a group of six linemen using pike poles to hoist a power pole up in the air on what I can only imagine was a sunny day in a rugged mountain meadow. What I see in this photo is extreme determination and pride from a group of men working together to bring electricity to communities that had none. Not because of a paycheck, not because of the notoriety, but because it was the right thing to do to turn a collection of homes into a community that could flourish and prosper.

This picture represents something that, even after more than a century, I see outside my office window every morning. As Grand Valley Power’s crews head out for the day in their service and bucket trucks to serve our members and community, I am inspired by their dedication, commitment, and their desire to do what is right.

If you feel as reverent about linework as I do, you might also be wondering why the first national recognition of electrical lineworkers did not occur until 2013. That year, a resolution by the U.S. Senate established April 18 as National Linemen Appreciation Day. Then, in 2023, the Colorado General Assembly passed Senate Resolution 23-007 designating April 18 as Colorado Electrical Lineworker Appreciation Day. This is an especially important day for all of us who depend on the hard work and dedication of this craft to light our homes and power our communities across Colorado’s unforgiving terrain.

This year, I do not want to stop my gratitude there. I want to go one step further and thank the families who support our lineworkers. As a daughter and the wife of linemen, I know what it means to support them. These men do not see line work as a job or even a career, but as a way of life. And in a lineworker’s home, it becomes your family’s way of life.

A snowstorm and howling winds in the forecast have a whole new meaning. You feel a shift in how the household runs: anticipatory and prepared to take on a little extra, juggle a little more when the phone call comes. You never know if it is going to be a simple job or something that would turn into multiple, long nights and days, but you’re ready for both. I remember vividly a time early on when my now husband and I first met; I was working the night shift in the power operations center, and he was a lineman for the same company. He had been called out during a storm to several miles of lines downed by a tornado, but the weather was not over. The winds were high, and the radar tracked aggressive storm cells traveling across the area. I remember sitting behind a computer screen with my eyes glued to the weather monitor, watching the storm move toward the area I knew they were in, helpless but hopeful. It was one of the longest nights I have had, but it was also one of my proudest, knowing that he and his team were restoring power to communities that desperately needed it.

Lineworkers are sons, daughters, husbands, wives, moms, and dads. They have families at home who always carry a little extra worry in their minds knowing the risks of the trade, whether on a storm job or going out for a simple routine task. But they also know that neither they nor their lineworker would have it any other way, because line work is not just a job or a paycheck, it’s a commitment to service and a commitment to community.

So on April 18, I echo the nation in saying thank you to all the lineworkers past and present for your dedication to the trade. I also say thank you to the families who stand behind them and support the work they do every day. It truly takes a team, and for that I am grateful we have some of the best!