Jaiden Raines’ holds the glove bag she adorned with her artwork to remind her uncle, Little River Electric lineman Brett Timmerman, to work safely so that he can return home to his family—Rhett, Rebecca, and Anna.
Glove bag designed by lineworker’s family wins co-op contest
By Josh P. Crotzer
Whenever there is an evening storm that comes through Little River Electric Cooperative’s service area, Brett Timmerman’s kids know he’ll probably be heading out to restore any outages it might cause. His daughter Anna always tells him to be careful. So does his wife, Rebecca. Rhett, his 5-year-old son who has Down syndrome, has his own way of delivering the same message.
“He has trouble talking, but he always says a little something,” says Timmerman, a lineman for Little River Electric. “I know what he’s trying to say, every time.”
Timmerman gets the same message whenever he looks at the canvas bag that holds his protective rubber gloves and sleeves. On it is an image of a lineman climbing a pole, which was drawn by his niece, Jaiden Raines. It also has messages and markings made by his wife, daughter and son. One says, “We love you, Daddy” at the top.
“It’s what it’s all about,” says Timmerman. “We’re supposed to work safe no matter what, but when you think about your loved ones, it makes you want to do it even more.”
Timmerman’s bag was selected by Little River Electric as the local winner of the My Why contest in November. South Carolina’s electric cooperatives partnered with their materials and equipment provider Cooperative Electric Energy Utility Supply (CEEUS) to sponsor the contest. Cooperative lineworkers across the state received bags donated by CEEUS to decorate and inspire a focus on safety. Whenever a line worker wears rubber gloves, it means they are working on or near energized conductors and their level of risk increases significantly.
“You can’t make someone be safety- minded, they have to want it,” says Josh Strickland, Little River Electric’s supervisor of safety and loss control. “The My Why bags help make safety mean more on a personal level. They know they are needed more for their families than they are needed as an employee.”
