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Houston Local 66 Apprentice Lineman Wins International Rodeo

December 5, 2011

Mike Luksch, an apprentice linemen, isn’t throwing around clichés when he discusses the highs and lows of recent days.

In November, only a week after winning the 2011 International Lineman’s Rodeo in Kansas City, including a written test and a CPR exercise, Luksch’s house burned down.

Luckily, he says, his coworkers and managers at Centerpoint Energy’s Baytown Service Center outside of Houston—the same people who drilled him and helped him prepare for his third year of rodeo competition in the investor-owned utility category-- were quick to offer places to stay, transportation and a seat at their dinner tables. Luksch, who will complete his apprenticeship in six months, says:

We’re a big family here. Everyone at the service center has been real supportive.  I’m proud to be a member of Houston Local 66.

While still a helper, Lucksch was on the receiving end of a lot of good-natured hazing from his head lineman when he heard his boss had competed in and won previous rodeos.  After expressing interest in joining the competition, Luksch’s mentor started timing him on different tasks. Then other workers would time him and give advice on how to more efficiently complete certain jobs. His girlfriend joined in, testing him on questions based on the Lineman and Cableman’s Handbook, an industry favorite first published in 1928. “She could have won second place after all the work she put in,” says Luksch. He adds:

I placed second in a local competition in my first year and seventh in the international rodeo in my second, So, I decided I would do everything I needed to do to win.

After winning the big trophy for his written test and first place in the CPR competition, where he simulated the resuscitation of a downed co-worker, Luksch arrived at work and placed the trophy on his head lineman’s desk as a joke. He’s happy he did. The fire, of unknown origin, totally destroyed his home. While grateful that no one was injured, Luksch lost some previously-won trophies in the fire. But the trophy left on the desk is still there to remind him of the power of practice and focus on skill-building.

Rick Childers, Local 66 assistant business manager, who represents 1,200 union members at Centerpoint and is in charge of many events at the international rodeo, is trying to get new trophies to replace those Luksch lost. Either way, Luksch feels fortunate. He says:

It’s kind of funny.  I was working repairing cars when I had a discussion with a postal worker and asked him about his job. I told him I liked to work outside and use my hands. He said he had a friend that worked at the light company [Centerpoint] who loved what he did and made a good living.  So I went down and applied.  I was hired at 18.  It’s my first full-time job and I’ve been living the dream ever since.

Luksch, who enjoys kayak fishing, and bow hunting, is already working on putting together a team of journeymen for next year’s international competition.