Firelands Reconizes Cooperative Employees In 2007

Donna Woodworth - 20 years as Firelands Trustee - (11/07).

“Changes in technology,” is what Woodworth says when asked her impressions of her time on Firelands’ Board of Trustees. “New technology has enhanced the efficiency of workers in the office and the Engineering Department,” she says, “and this has filtered down to the linemen in the field. Everything from computers and the Internet, to our digital mapping system and outage management program, has helped employees target and respond to outages more quickly. The Turtle® metering provides more information to help analyze problems and has improved the billing process. And the members benefit with better service and more information to help them save money.”

Looking to the future, Woodworth sees the need for even greater improvements in work efficiency through improved technology. She says Firelands must continue to invest in new and improved technology because the cost of electricity, and energy in general, will continue
to increase.

“The cost of coal for generation is rising due to increasing transportation costs,” Woodworth says. “More homes are going up and there is a constant demand for more electricity. We will need to build more power plants and develop additional sources of renewable energy. There is so much being thrown at us — with environmental concerns and global climate change on the one hand and the need for more electricity on the other — consumers will have to decide how much they are willing to pay to meet these new challenges. It will be very costly to deal with.”

Donna Woodworth represents the members living in District 3. She and her husband, Ed, live in the North Fairfield area.

Rob Swiger celebrates five years with Firelands - (10/07).

Rob Swiger marks his fifth anniversary with the Cooperative this month. Rob was hired in October 2002 as an Engineering Services Representative doing field staking, and in March 2003 was selected for an apprentice lineman position.

After completing the Dennis Merchant lineman training program and 8,000 hours of line training, Rob was promoted to journeyman lineman in October 2006. As a journeyman lineman, Rob is responsible for running a crew for line construction and some line maintenance. Most of his recent projects include changing poles, transformers and wire as a part of Firelands’ FEMA rebuilding project.

Rob says he “enjoys being a lineman, working in a field where every day is different and presents new challenges.” He enjoys being part of a great team of linemen, and making a living doing something that not just any person wants to do every day. A resident of the rural New London area, Rob enjoys working on various projects in his garage and doing local volunteer work. He and his wife, Carolyn, enjoy riding motorcycles and spending time with their three children.

Zach Collins promoted to Journeyman Lineman - (10/07).

Congratulations to Zach Collins, who recently was promoted from apprentice to journeyman lineman. Zach joined Firelands in August 2002, working as a member services technician doing water heater repairs and load management installations. In May 2004, he was selected to enter the Ohio Electric Cooperatives Apprentice Lineman training program at Marion Technical College. After completing his school work and 8,000 hours of line training, Zach was promoted to journeyman lineman in June of 2007.

In August, he celebrated his fifth anniversary with the Cooperative. Zach says that while he “enjoyed meeting new people and assisting members one-one when he worked in Member Services, he loves being a lineman.” As a journeyman lineman, his duties involve mostly line construction work; which includes setting poles, installing transformers and hanging new wire. He says he enjoys his job even when the weather turns bad, because he works with a great group of guys. Zach lives in New London with his wife, Amanda. He enjoys volunteering his time for local projects, riding ATVs and working on his 1985 Chevy S-10 racing truck.

Say “Hello” to Meter Technician, Ken Keener - (9/07).

Ken Keener, Firelands’ new meter technician, was hired several months ago to handle the increasingly complex task of testing and maintaining electric meters. He has been learning how to set up, test and maintain the Turtle® AMR computer units that Firelands installs in each residential meter; as well as the receiving devices at each substation that collect the data sent in by the Turtles over the power lines.

Ken also will be testing the mechanical meters and Turtles already installed at members’ residences. Firelands Electric previously used a contractor to test meters in place, but now Ken will test approximately 1,300 meters each year. At that rate, he will test all of Firelands’ electric meters and Turtles on a 7 year cycle.

He always knocks at the door to let members know that their power will be briefly interrupted. If someone is using a computer, he can return later after they have shut down their computer. Ken started his meter testing program earlier this summer, so when you see him in your neighborhood, be sure to say “Hello!”

Ken and his wife Beth live in the Ashland area. They have three grown sons and six grandchildren.

Jim Fernekees celebrates 35 years with Firelands - (6/07).

In 1972, after working as a contract Journeyman Lineman constructing electric lines for several years, Jim Fernekees was hired to work at Firelands Electric Cooperative. During his 35 years with the Co-op, Jim has worked under three managers and more supervisors than he can count. He says, “I’ve seen a generation come and go and now the new generation is here and it’s high tech. Today we get lots of information ‘right now’ that used to take us a month to find out. Everything has changed, but it’s still lines and poles.”

And speaking of lines and poles, along the way Jim got his charter boat Captain’s license and ran fishing charters on Lake Erie in his spare time for many years. He stopped taking charters a few years ago and says, “I still have the boat, but the charters became too much to handle. Being a lineman is not just a job – it’s a way of life.”

For the past couple of years Jim has been working on special projects for Firelands. He and his team have rebuilt and upgraded substations and transfer switches, improving system reliability. Jim sums it up well, “Line work will remain basically the same, but the control systems are changing. Rural America is growing and the load is growing, we’ve brought Firelands’ system up to meet it. It should be good for the next 10 years – we’ll see after that. Now, I think it’s about time to go back to fishing.”

Firelands Employees Reconized In 2006

Firelands Employees Reconized In 2005

Firelands Employees Reconized In 2004