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January 28, 2005
Leaving Valley ElectricCROWTHER RETIRING AFTER 35 YEARS OF SERVICE IN PAHRUMP
By BREANNE HUBBARD
Brent Crowther, manager of operations for Valley Electric, has been an employee of the company for a little over 35 years, longer than any other employee there. Not only is Crowther the longest-tenured employee, but he also has worked for every general manager the electric company has ever had. When someone reaches such status, the fork in the road that seemed so far away becomes shorter in distance. For Crowther, the time to take the new path and start retirement will begin Tuesday. The plaques and other miscellaneous items have already been taken off the wall - what remains are nails that used to hold memories. Crowther used to have a saying on the wall that read, "Not all those who wander are lost." Crowther found those words to be good advice throughout the years. "It's time," he said of his retirement. Crowther had thought about leaving in May and even talked to the company about it, but former General Manager Lou Holveck retired in June and Crowther thought he should stick around for a while. "It was just as easy to stay a little longer," Crowther said. It was February 1969 when Crowther first became an employee of Valley Electric. He started off at entry level, working as a groundsman, and slowly made his way up the ladder. Crowther soon moved to apprentice lineman, journeyman lineman and lead lineman. While he was growing in the company, the company in turn began to grow and become more sophisticated, Crowther said. When Crowther first started at Valley Electric, he said the substations in Sandy Valley and other locations were nonexistent. He has been the manager of operations for the past nine years, coming from a line superintendent position. Crowther also helped start the meter and substation department. He handled OSHA issues from the federal and state departments and got heavily involved with trade organizations during his time with Valley Electric. Because of his experience with OSHA, he joined an OSHA task force within the company that dealt with the regulations. When Crowther looks back at the many hats he's worn over the years, he said his job in apparatus and his current job were the most fun right off the bat. Then, he stopped and thought about it for a second. "Actually, you know, they're all great jobs," he said. Crowther has always been an outdoor person, but he loves his indoor job just as much. "It's a good thing, because you're both inside and out," he said. One of Crowther's favorite memories was building lines out by Mt. Potosi and seeing the sunrise over the mountains and glisten off the new lines. He has more memories, but on the spot, they don't come easily. "All those things take an awful lot of thought," he said. In his years with the electric company, Crowther has found it takes a knack to be a lineman. He has hired most of the current linemen at Valley Electric. "We have very little turnover," he said. What Crowther will miss most about Valley Electric are the employees and the definite routine of being somewhere for 35 years. "Lineman by nature are very close knit," he said. Crowther told someone the other day he wasn't looking forward to the first day of retirement, but he was looking forward to the second day and all the days after that. "I'll certainly be able to enjoy a good lightning storm now," he said; a not so subtle reference to the problems that such storms create for the co-op. Crowther has plans for retirement, but nothing concrete. He has things around the house he wants to tend to. He and his wife, Laraine, who retired five years ago, have land in Washington on the beach that they've thought about putting a house on. Both are pretty active in different interests, Crowther said, so they'll keep busy. No matter where they go, "our home is here," he said. Laraine grew up in Pahrump, so they will always be a part of the community. The Crowthers didn't make definite plans for retirement, because they aren't that kind of people, he said. "I didn't dwell on that. We just kind of take life as it comes," he said. Crowther admits that he's thinking about planning more now than he was eight months ago. Valley Electric will have a luncheon today and a golf tournament Saturday in honor of Crowther's lengthy employment. Crowther loves to golf. "I'm not any good at it, but I like it," he said. Crowther has advice for current employees and future employees of Valley Electric. "Patience is golden," he said. He encourages the older lineman to have patience with the young guys and teach them. "How well they turn out is how well you train them," he said. The newer linemen should always pay attention to those who have been there. "Knowledge is everything," he said. Crowther has been in a great company, he said, with great people. "It's been a major part of my life," he said. "Over half of my life has been here." Crowther said he never thought in his wildest dreams on the day he started at Valley Electric that he would retire there. Here's to a new road and a new chapter in the book of life. |
