Procurement News Notice |
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| PNN | 296 |
| Work Detail | A national rodeo came to the Jefferson County Fairgrounds on Saturday, though there were no cowboys, bull-riders or mutton busters. Instead, there were plenty of hardhats and utility workers from all over the country. “Less livestock,” said Colby Vallejo with a smile, wearing an American flag hardhat. “Just as much cheering though!” Vallejo traveled to Denver from Springfield, Missouri to compete in the annual National Gas Rodeo hosted by Xcel Energy. During the week, Vallejo works for City Utilities of Springfield, but on Saturday, he captained a four-man team called the Gas House Gorillas. “All of these guys out here do gas construction for a living,” Vallejo explained. “And all of us out here are doing different events that we do every single day, day in, day out,” Typical rodeo events were replaced with ones like pipe cutting and pit digging, where two and four-man teams used modified shovels to dig out a box buried in four feet of dirt. “It’s a race against time, but dirt really gets flying on that hand dig,” said Cheryl Campbell, Senior Vice President of Gas for Xcel Energy. Campbell said 55 teams competed in Saturday’s rodeo that put utility workers to the ultimate test. “These are the guys that keep us all warm and keep our hot showers going,” Campbell said. “It’s really important to celebrate what they do and to recognize the pride they have in their work every day.” Colby Vallejo and the Gas House Gorillas were competing in the National Gas Rodeo for the first time. The team had a dominating performance on the pit dig, but wished they recorded a faster time in the meter set, an event where crews build a gas meter set-up from scratch. “We’re all rookies,” Vallejo said. “We’ve never done this before at all.” You can bet, this won’t be their last gas rodeo. “Now that we’re here, I don’t know how you could watch and not get excited,” Vallejo said. “It’s awesome.” |
| Country | United States , Northern America |
| Industry | Energy & Power |
| Entry Date | 02 Sep 2016 |
| Source | http://www.9news.com/life/events/utility-workers-compete-at-jeffco-fairgrounds/309697420 |
