National Lineman Appreciation Day, when electric cooperatives shine a spotlight on lineworkers’ dedication and community service, is April 10 this year.
But Greg Mays, a lineman at Farmers Electric Cooperative, has been experiencing lineman appreciation of a different nature since October. That’s when he appeared on the cover of Texas Co-op Power, which caught the attention of readers around Greenville and Sulphur Springs who realized they had something of a celebrity in their midst.
Nearly a dozen Farmers EC members dropped off magazines at co-op offices so Mays could autograph the covers. “It’s cool, but it’s a little embarrassing,” Mays says. “We’re just regular people.”
Emails to the magazine suggest otherwise. “If our linemen looked like Greg … all the women in Conroe would be cutting their lines down,” wrote one reader. “The lineman is just totally gorgeous,” another said. “Yowza!”
Mays says his wife playfully threatens to check his email, but the attention has given him a chance to talk about his passion.
“I love my job,” he says. “I truly love helping people. At 2 o’clock in the morning when the power is out, I love to help people.”
