Georgia Power linemen showed they’ve got the “right stuff” in this year’s International Lineman’s Rodeo Competition, clinching first and third place overall among their competitors and capping the most awards won by Southern Company in the history of the event.

Members of the first place team came from Georgia Power’s Oakley operating headquarters in Union City and included linemen Mark Buchanan, Mark Cochran, Ross Crosby and Coach Louie Peebles. Members of the third place team from Lawrenceville included Drew Stover, J.C. Autry, Jeremy Brown and Coach Scott Simpson.

Georgia Power teams also took first and fourth place in the top senior journeyman category as well as first place in several individual events. To qualify as a senior journeyman the lineman must be 45 years old or older. This marks the seventh time in 14 years that the company has walked away with winner’s trophies.

The first place senior journeyman team from the company’s Valdosta operating headquarters consisted of linemen Andy Bostic, Coy Brightwell, Michael McDowell and Coach Freddy Ramsey. Fourth place in this category went to team members Rex Goble, Dennis Jones, Calvin Wilson and Coach Barry Allen from Georgia Power’s Augusta operating headquarters.

Dominating the top spots overall in the Apprentice Division in a series of five events was Carrollton Apprentice Lineman Scotty Burkes, who also took a second and a third place in individual events.

“Our linemen demonstrate on a daily basis that they’re world class by the outstanding work that they do. By dominating the top spots in this competition, they’ve validated those skills and proved it on the international stage,” said Mickey Brown, executive vice president of Georgia Power’s Customer Service Organization.

The 22nd annual event held in Kansas City, Mo., Sept. 17 brought together teams from electric utilities around the country and as far away as Ireland.

In all, seven three-member teams and seven apprentice linemen from Georgia Power participated in the competition.

There were 143 teams who performed a variety of maneuvers to demonstrate their physical stamina, safety, skill, speed, teamwork and knowledge of the electrical system. There were also 159 apprentice linemen competing in individual events.

Participants in the competition tested their expertise in timed events such as mock rescue of a full weight mannequin from the top of a power pole, replacing a pole crossarm and insulator, and pole climbing.

Georgia Power is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, one of the nation’s largest generators of electricity. The company is an investor-owned, tax-paying utility, serving customers in 57,000 of the state’s 59,000 square miles. Georgia Power’s rates are below the national average and its 2 million customers are in all but six of Georgia’s 159 counties.