Apprentice graduates celebrate completing steps to become journeymen

David’s family watched with pride as he walked to the front of the crowded room and took another big step in his career. Yesterday, after three years of hard work and dedication, David Stockhorst and 23 other apprentices graduated to become Distribution Journeymen, Journeymen Cable Splicers or Substation Journeymen. A journeyman is a skilled worker who has successfully completed their official apprenticeship qualification in their craft. The new journeymen completed 6,000 hours of hands-on training in the field and in the classroom to become proficient in their field.

“I enjoy taking ownership of the calls I make while on the job and making sure that my team members are safe so we can all go home to our families at the end of the day,” said David, who is now a Distribution Journeyman and has 17 years of experience at CPS Energy.

Bradley Allen, a new Substation Journeymen with nine years of utility experience, said he’s looking forward to applying his skills and leadership in his new role to keep fellow team member safe on the job.

“It’s a lot of responsibility,” said Bradley. “We work on seven to nine-man crews. You’ve got three to four journeymen on there and the rest are trainees. You’re in charge to make sure nobody gets hurt. You’re constantly watching each other’s backs to be your brother’s keeper.”

CPS Energy President & CEO Paula Gold-Williams gathered with senior leaders, training staff, managers and family members of the new journeymen for a celebration on Thursday, May 31, to honor the graduating class of apprentices.

“This is a major milestone today and I’m proud to represent you…,” said Paula. “Thank you for taking the time to push your careers forward. It was a big commitment, lots of testing and an amazing effort. Thanks for being the best experts in (the field).”

Paula and fellow senior leaders Cris Eugster, Chief Operating Officer, Fred Bonewell, Chief Security & Safety Officer, and Rudy Garza, Senior Vice President of Distribution Services & Operations, also made sure to thank their families for supporting them along the way.

“Anything in life of significance is hard and having families there to support you is a big deal,” said Cris, our Chief Operating Officer. “I would like to thank all the kids, spouses, friends and family that are here today.”

Our employees’ families sometimes have to sacrifice special time together when their loved ones are called away to duty. David’s wife, Lucy, recalled some of the hard moments.

“Last year, we were planning to go out to dinner for our wedding anniversary and he got called in to work,” she said. “There are times when he’s out there working and it’s really hot, cold or raining, and we worry about him. It’s difficult to deal with sometimes, but he always puts us first and we’re proud that he’s out there working to provide for us and help our community.”

Bradley’s wife, Kasey, who is expecting a baby boy in July, said she is proud of her husband’s accomplishments. And although his job will take him away from home, she is glad he’s part of a company that invests in his career, and cares for his safety and their family’s well-being.

“It’s an honor to support my husband, especially with a company that chooses to invest in my husband,” said Kasey. “Most people don’t get to say their company invests in them, so whatever we have to do, we just stand by each other.”

Congratulations to the 2018 class of journeymen! We appreciate all you do on a daily basis to make sure our customers and community have reliable power. Keep up the great work and stay safe out there.

CPS Energy’s 2018 Class of Journeymen

Distribution Journeymen

Antonio Asebedo

Brandon Bedford

Brian Eason

Waylon Hancock

Jason Howton

Cody Jordan

Karlo Martinez

Joshua Mitchell

Jeremy Moehrig

Eric Peacock

David Stockhorst

Justin Urbanczyk

Tony Weston

Bryan Weynand

Dennis Williams

Journeymen Cable Splicers

Shaun Bartlett

Ramon Montanez

Omar Zambrana

Substation Journeymen

Bradley Allen

Donald Fey

Michael Macias

Heath Osborn

Raul Villarreal

Armando Zertuche