On Jan. 9, NDAREC presented the following awards to area cooperatives:

— Stepping Up for Safety Award, Bill Sadowsky, North Central Electric Cooperative, Bottineau. The award recognizes outstanding safety advocates who, through their actions, inspire peers to commit to safe job performance and have greatly influenced their cooperatives’ safety culture.

— Decade of Safety Excellence Award, McLean County, Garrison. The award recognizes outstanding performance in safety, resulting in zero lost-time accidents for 10 consecutive years.

— Certificate of Safety Achievement for 2024, Burke-Divide Electric Cooperative, Columbus, and Northern Plains Electric Cooperative, Cando. The certificate goes to successful participants of the Rural Electric Safety Achievement Program, a national safety program that encourages electric cooperatives to achieve and maintain high safety standards for the protection of employees and the community.

North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives Safety Instructors Brian Lakoduk, left, Mike Koenig, center, and Jeff Tweten, right, present Andy Lindstrom, Verendrye Electric Cooperative, with his Journeyman Lineworker Certificate during a Jan. 9 graduation ceremony. (NDAREC photo)

— Safety Performance Award, McLean Electric. The award is presented to cooperatives with zero recordable injuries between Dec. 1, 2023, and Nov. 30, 2024.

NDAREC also announced the graduation of 14 lineworkers and one meter technician from its apprenticeship program. After four years of on-the-job training and independent study, these employees are now fully qualified to take on the vital responsibilities of ensuring safe and reliable utility service for North Dakotans.

Area graduates recognized during a Jan. 9 awards ceremony at the NDAREC Apprenticeship, Training and Safety Conference were Riley Headings, McKenzie Electric Cooperative, Watford City; Dayton Seborg and Tyler Kahn, Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative, Williston/Stanley/New Town; Andy Linstrom and Riley Keller, Verendrye Electric Cooperative, Velva/Minot; and Kyle Volk and Cooper Vols, North Central Electric.

In 2024, Lori Wright, McKenzie Electric Cooperative, became the first woman to complete NDAREC’s meter technician apprenticeship program. As a journeyman meter technician, Wright will play a crucial role in ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the services that power the lives of the cooperative’s members.

Bill Sadowsky