POWERGRAMS

"A TV crew, the Georgia Department of Transportation and the city police were all on- site," Macon said. "I couldn't get clearance for the job because I couldn't reach the DOC (Distribution Operations Center) on the phone, and the college president wanted to know when the lights would be back on. I was being pounded from all directions." Macon said advancements in technology have changed the work process through the years. But the focus on safety has remained constant. "We've always tried to be safe," Macon said. "Linemen have always passed good work habits on to other linemen and been conscious of safety." Born in Pell City and raised in Clay County, Macon was hired in 1981 at Alabama Power as a groundman in Transmission Construction in Alexander City. He had been working at Russell Coon Mills while aending Southern Union State Community College. When Macon began his job search aer graduation, his dad, E.L., who was an Alabama Power lineman, suggested he apply for a job at the company. As a groundman, Macon said he was essentially a "gofer" for the line crew. He was called on to handle everything from pulling guy wire and handlines to installing anchors and distributing materials. In 1983, Macon was promoted to apprentice lineman in Transmission in Anniston. He then began moving through the lineman classification ranks in Transmission and Distribution, working in Anniston, Oak Grove and Dadeville. Although he recalls many good experiences from those days, Macon said there's one that nearly ended his life. "I was at the top of a 90-foot power pole when an insulator broke while I was working on it," Macon said. "When that wire support was gone, I started down the pole headfirst and fell into the lap of the lineman below me. He just started pushing me back onto the insulator. As soon as I stood back up on the insulator, I can remember bear-hugging that pole. That's something you'll never forget." As a lineman working in rural areas, Macon got some unusual assignments such as installing transmission structures on islands and repairing power lines crossing the Coosa River. Macon said the equipment and work processes have improved through the years. "I came up in a different era," said the 59-year-old. "That 90-foot pole would be worked from a bucket truck today. Back then, buckets would not extend higher than 65 feet. The lineman had to climb any structures higher than that." In 2005, Macon stepped out of his lineman shoes when he became a system operator at the Southern Division Distribution Control Center. He began passing on his knowledge as an instructor at the Training Center in the General Services Complex, and later became an inspector in Transmission. Macon returned to Dadeville six years ago as crew foreman. "I can't imagine any other career that I would have enjoyed beer than this," said Macon. "Line work suits me." AFTER HOURS Aer work and on the weekends, Macon is usually taking a run in one of his kayaks on the creek near his Alexander City home. Last year, he took those adventures to the next level aer reading an article about the Alabama Scenic River Trail (ASRT) in Shorelines magazine. The ASRT is a network of waterways navigable by canoe or kayak, with the major artery running 630 miles from northeast Alabama – where the Coosa River enters the state from Georgia – to Fort Morgan, where Mobile Bay merges with the Gulf of Mexico. With limited vacation time, Macon decided to explore each river system separately. Last spring, he traversed the Tallapoosa River, traveling 250 miles in seven days. Macon's next step was to buy a faster kayak and begin training for the next leg of his journey. Knowing his trip down the Alabama River in the fall would be tougher, Macon said he would set his phone timer for 30 minutes aer work every aernoon and then paddle his new kayak along the quarter-mile stretch of creek that passes his home. When he set out on Oct. 29 in his 16-foot-long, 21-inch-side kayak, Macon said there was just enough room for him and his gear, which consisted of a one- S C E N E S F R O M T H E A D V E N T U R E In 2016, Macon traversed the Alabama Scenic River Trail, traveling 250 miles along the Tallapoosa River, then later going another 400 miles from Wetumpka to Fort Morgan. He had an 18-foot-long, 21-inch-wide kayak with a tent, sleeping bag, food and water inside. Macon went through several dam locks, dropping 50 feet at Miller's Ferry, and survived high winds, waves and gators in Mobile Bay. 43

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