In a city where the buzz and hum of electricity signify life and progress, the work of linemen often goes uncelebrated until the lights go out. Yet, for Edmond Electric's Brett Griffin, it's a career that's been charged with growth and service since 1993. From an apprentice to distribution superintendent, Griffin shared his journey in a recent release from the City of Edmond.
"One day I had a good friend reach out to me and ask if I had ever thought about being a power lineman," Griffin recounted to the City of Edmond, illustrating how a simple conversation sparked his career over three decades ago. With 8,000 hours of on-the-job training recognized by the Department of Labor and a four-year apprenticeship program under his belt, he earned his journeyman lineman's license, and the road, upwards, was paved with the promise of diligence and community service.
But it's not just skill at tethering the city's lifeblood that defines a lineman's trade; it's also about heart, according to Griffin. "Linemen lead with the heart of a servant, always working to help someone in need whether it's in our community, or a community that's been affected by natural disaster," he said in the release.
For Griffin, the promotions have come due to a simple maxim he holds dear, "any job worth doing is worth doing right." It wraps simplicity and a solid work ethic into a principle that would see him through the toughest of times and the most peaceful of days. "Being a lineman is a very rewarding career, whether you are providing service to a new home, business, or development, or restoring power after a failure in the system or a storm that's come through town, it's something we take pride in, making the situation better than the way we found it," Griffin told the City of Edmond.
