For the first time, Garland Power and Light has entered a team in the Texas Linemen's Rodeo and will participate in an upcoming International competition in Kansas City this September.

According to Mark Albright, who assisted the Garland team at the San Antonio event, "This was a great experience for our linemen who practiced five months to prepare for the statewide rodeo. There were 27 teams competing."

The linemen were judged and timed in seven different events - all based on actual performances in daily activities. Points were awarded for each event. Explained Albright, "The competition consisted of such activities as cross arm change out, single phase recloser change, pole climbing, knot tying, first aid, hurt men rescue and making an elbow."

Members of the Garland linemen's team were Harold McNair, Jon Bender and Richard Martinez. Danny Johnson, one of the team supervisors, was called on to help with the judging in the cross arm change out.

"That was a little rough on Danny," Albright said, "because he had to judge the same event over and over all day. That was rather tedious."

One of the more unusual facets of the pole climbing event was the fact that participants held a raw egg in their mouths during the one phase of the competition. They had to climb a pole and on the decline they held a raw egg in their mouth and had to avoid breaking the egg in the process.

"An important phase in of the state rodeo is what our linemen learned," Albright said. "They had a chance to see how others carry out each of the seven events to register the highest points. This will enable them to apply these ideas to their own system."

Even though the Garland Power and Light team failed to qualify in the upper echelon, they were able to improve their competitive abilities with an eye toward scoring higher at the next rodeo in Kansas City.