The 28th Annual Montana Lineman's Rodeo was held this summer in Butte, Montana at the Vigilante Saddle Club Rodeo Grounds just on the outskirts of town. The Montana Lineman's Rodeo Association hosts the Annual event.
The Rodeo wasn't held in 2020 due to the pandemic, but returned in a big way in 2021. Hundreds of competitors from across the state were on hand to take part in a number of different competitions.
One of those competitors is Harlem Class of 2015 graduate Brenden Johnson who was representing Big Flat Electric at the Rodeo. Johnson had an incredible performance while at the Rodeo. Competing in the Journeyman Apprentice Lineman competition.
Johnson's performance was historic as he took top honors with a perfect score of 400. Johnson completed four events, each worth 100 points, perfectly in 11:02. He scored a 95 on a written test as well earning him the top Apprentice spot overall. Johnson was one of the better Journeyman Apprentices from Montana, Northern California, Oregon, Idaho and Washington. It was the first time if ever the feat had been accomplished.
The first event is a pole climb where competitors climb up and down a 40 foot pole with an egg in their mouth with the object being of course to not break the egg. The second main event is a Hurt Man Rescue where we are simulating a scenario where a lineman had been injured on the pole. Deductions can include improperly tied knots on the dummy or lowering the Dummy in an unsafe and untimely matter, too fast or dropping them etcetera. The final two are random mystery events.
Johnson attended MSU-Northern for a year after graduating from Harlem High School and then decided to make a career change. Johnson took a five month Pre-Apprenticeship Lineman Course from Highland College in Butte that is overseen by Montana Tech.
Johnson worked as a groundsman for Northwest Energy until December of 2019. He was then offered an apprenticeship from Big Flat Electric to become a Journeyman Lineman. The process took four years to gain Apprenticeship.
Johnson earned a trip to National Lineman's Rodeo in Kansas City, Missouri this October, but will not be attending due a number of circumstances.
"It was an honor to go and represent Big Flat Electric," said Johnson. "To be able to take Kristy with me and to have her be able to watch the competition and support me made it all worth while. There are a lot of great competitors there and to be able to come out on top was a very humbling experience."