Contact: NOVEC Communications, 1-703-335-0500, communications@novec.com
MANASSAS, Va. – A former servant to his country as a U.S. Coast Guardsman, Kyle Sarvis has served the customers of Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC) in Manassas for nearly 13 years. The line crew foreman and his wife, Tristin, have two children who were excited to cheer for their daddy at this year’s Gaff-n-Go Lineworkers Rodeo in Doswell, Virginia.
The Gaff-n-Go Rodeo is a two-day competition coordinated by the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives; it brings together lineworkers from electric cooperatives, investor-owned utilities, municipal companies and contractors. Lineworkers’ skills are tested -- from climbing electric poles in full protective gear, to safely completing repair tasks on energized cables, to operating specialized equipment – while the stopwatch is ticking.
“Kyle became a lineman six months after we got married,” says Tristin Sarvis, whose father also served as a Coast Guardsman. “I’ve never been prouder of him.”
Linework is a demanding profession that is accompanied by many sacrifices, including missed holidays, birthdays and other milestone events. “As hard as it is for us, it’s even harder for the guys,” says Tristin Sarvis. “But they’re out supporting their families and strangers’ families in times of need.” That includes a power outage on Christmas in frigid conditions, getting soaked in a three-day rainstorm, and dodging falling tree limbs in 60-mph winds.
For Sarvis, not a day goes by without his loving wife worrying. “There isn’t a single job they have where something couldn’t go wrong,” she says. She is appreciative of her husband’s commitment to safety — no shortcuts. As a foreman, his No. 1 priority is ensuring all crew members return home safely to their families. He brings that lifestyle home with him too. Safety is everything.
An atmosphere of support
Tristin Sarvis and their kids were at the Gaff-n-Go rodeo in May this year to support her husband. “I have attended at least ten rodeos,” she says. “The sheer determination and dedication you see from them is astonishing. Most of the atmosphere there are wives or family members supporting their husbands, brothers, fathers, friends or even coworkers. All around you see pillars of support.
“My son, Karsen, kept saying Daddy was like a monkey and goes super-fast! And my daughter, Beau, of course, is such a daddy’s girl that she couldn’t help but worry. They cheered for the team and, afterwards, wouldn’t leave their side.”
A role model
Working for a cooperative is often described as being part of a co-op family, and that includes the employee’s spouse and children. Tristin Sarvis values the relationships she has with the spouses of her husband’s coworkers.
“There’s been times when other wives will reach out to Kyle for Christmas gift ideas for their husbands since they are on the same crew,” she says. “A lot of these women I’ve known since Kyle started working. I’ve seen their kids grow up. They have seen us before kids and now, with two and another on the way.”
Finding the right words is challenging for Tristin Sarvis to adequately tell her husband how unbelievably proud they are to have him. “He’s an amazing father who shows his children what it’s like to work hard, lead without hesitation, and, if you’re not sure, find out the answer.”
Sarvis’s crew members share her sentiment. They appreciate his willingness to climb into the bucket with them and provide as much instruction as possible regarding new tasks or approaches to those tasks.
Tristin Sarvis describes the best part of her day as seeing how her kids’ faces light up when they are outside playing, and they see their dad’s truck pull into the driveway. “They yell, ‘Mommy, Daddy’s home!’ Watching them literally climb his legs to get close to him while he has all his bags in his hands. Still, he holds them, comes to me, hugs me, kisses me and asks me how my day was.”
This article was written by Jim Robertson, manager of member services for Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives. It originally appeared in the July issue of Cooperative Living, a publication of the VMDAEC.
