Adam Osborn Manager of safety and compliance Butler Rural Electric Cooperative, Oxford Adam Osborn spends his days making sure everyone at Butler REC is safe and secure. Osborn is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. He monitors safety, conducts field audits with linemen, and makes sure all work areas at Butler REC comply with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations and safety procedures. “The job is a great fit,” he says. “I take it real seriously, so everyone can go home safely at the end of the day.” Osborn, a native of Webster, Indiana, served in the Air Force from 2003 until 2007. He responded to emergencies alongside EMTs, fought wildfires, and served in Baghdad, Iraq.
PHOTO BY E.L. HUBBARD
Along with an eye to safety, he says the Air Force instilled skills — time management, attention to detail, organization — that he uses daily and that created a natural path to Butler REC. “I still have that drive for safety,” he says. “My background in hazmat and emergency response helped qualify me for this job.” As part of that job, he teaches CPR and first aid to all 11 linemen and 37 office employees at Butler. He’s frequently on the phone answering compliance questions and explaining safety issues, and he travels to local schools to provide safety demonstrations — showing, for example, what can happen if a balloon or kite touches a power line. “I enjoy coming to work every day; I’m very grateful,” Osborn says. “Butler feels like family — everyone meshes together and works well together.”
Steve James, Class A lineman Holmes-Wayne Electric Cooperative, Millersburg Steve James grew up in Wayne County and now works around that same rural area as a lineman for the co-op. But in between? Let’s just say he wandered a little way from home.
PHOTO BY BILL THORNHILL
James served as a combat engineer in the U.S. Marine Corps, based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in the 1980s. He was part of “Operation Urgent Fury,” the U.S.-led invasion and liberation of the Caribbean island of Grenada. He also served in war-torn Beirut, Lebanon. Following his service, James was happy to return to the familiar hills of eastern Ohio, where he’s been a lineman for 13 years. The skills and character he built with the Marines have served him well. “I pretty much go by the idea that you do what’s needed to get a job done,” he says. “In the Marine Corps, whatever the orders were, you found a way to do it.” Perhaps the most treasured part of his job is his involvement in the HolmesWayne Community Honor Trips — taking the area’s WWII, Korea, and Vietnam veterans to visit the Washington, D.C., memorials that honor their service. “The part I really enjoy is talking with the veterans and learning about their experiences,” he says. “I want to hear their stories — ask what they did and just listen. A lot of times they hold that in, but I want to see them open up. Being I’m a little older vet, I think they tend to talk to me. They are the real deal.”
NOVEMBER 2018 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING 5