(view our Locate Rodeo 2006 Winners)

ATLANTA, GA - August, 2006 Nearly 100 competitors, from across the United States and Canada, participated in the 5th Annual International Utility Locate Rodeo at Emory College in Atlanta in early August.

The rodeo began in 2001 as a way to recognize the efforts of professionals in the utility locate industry. It has done its job in creating a "buzz" about the industry, said Fiona Bowen, Liaison Manager at Utilities Protection Center (UPC) in Georgia. UPC has taken the lead in putting the event together each year with the help of dedicated volunteers including rodeo coordinator Tim Boatfield, with One Vision Utility Services. Bowen serves as the Event Coordinator for the rodeo handling everything from hotel room blocks to ordering shirts to updating the e-newsletter and other publicity.

To some participants, the event is a type of family reunion that they look forward to attending each year to network and reconnect with friends and colleagues, Bowen said. "Throughout the industry, I have started hearing more about the rodeo," she said. "It takes everyone's "word of mouth" to bring awareness to the event. It also takes coming out to see the rodeo to get a true understanding."

The year, the Common Ground Alliance held meetings prior to the rodeo which gave other national one-call directors and staff a chance to see first-hand what the rodeo is all about. This year, two regional events served as feeder events for the international competition including the Northwest Rodeo in Oregon and the Midwest Rodeo in Illinois.

"There has been a lot of talk about feeder events and that is really great news," Bowen said. "Feeder events help bring more exposure on a local level." Regional winners advanced to the international competition.

Bowen credits the people involved with the rodeo in making it a success throughout the years. "We have amazing dedication from our volunteer rodeo crew," she said. "Tim Boatfield had several people in the industry that got behind him when we started five years ago. They have built a network of people we can count on to show up and get the job done."

Putting on a rodeo involves months of labor intensive work. Boatfield and crew began planning a year in advance. Site selection is the first order of business. The University or site used must have all four utility groups (water, electric, gas and telecommunications) necessary for the competition. Three months prior to the rodeo, Boatfield along with Jay Middleton from Middleton and Associates and Mike Marrero from Consolidated Utility Services, start planning the layout of the event. Boatfield spends the next two months getting the competition wheels refurbished and ready for the big day.

For additional information on the International Utility Locate Rodeo, visit http://www.locaterodeo.com/.

Oregon site of Northwest

Regional Rodeo

It was a perfect summer day in Oregon as23 utility locate professionals demonstratedtheir skills at the first Northwest RegionalUtility Locate Rodeo on June 24 at ClackamasCommunity College in Oregon City. As thefirst event of its kind in the Northwest, therodeo was modeled after the InternationalUtility Locate Rodeo held annually in Augustin Atlanta, Georgia. For many participantsand volunteers, however, this was their firstglimpse into the "wheels" that make up thelocate competition. Participants had 12minutes to complete a locate in one of fourdivisions including gas, electric, water ortelecommunications. A bonus event, "Locatefrom Hell," further challenged their skills withonly three minutes to locate what could be any

type of utility.

Midwest

REGIONAL

The entire event was completed in lessthan four hours, but the planning that led tothe day took nearly a year. The committee,headed by Gary Hyatt of Northwest Natural,started organizing last August. Oregon hassent candidates for the last three or four years,but this year the Oregon Utility NotificationCenter (OUNC) board of directors wanted tolearn more about the rodeo and how it wasorganized. Hyatt went to observe and serveas a volunteer judge in 2005. At the internationallevel, the Rodeo consists of a MasterJudge, Event Judges and alternate judges TheMaster Judge oversees the entire competitionand settles any disputes.

The OUNC board decided we shoulddo this in Oregon to give West Coast folksa chance. OUNC committed support tosponsoring and hosting this first event. As amember of the OUNC board and a representativeof the OregonUtility CoordinatingCouncil, Hyatt organizeda committee of28 industry leaders tobegin planning theirfirst-ever event.

"We had tostart getting our armsaround what this eventwas going to look like,"said Jamie Stencil, ofComcast, who willchair the 2007 SecondAnnual NorthwestRegional Utility LocateRodeo. "On theday of the event youcould see the timeand energy the committeehad put into itresulted in a great dayfor competitors andvolunteers. Many ofour competitors saidthey had no idea whatto expect from the firstevent, but would definitelybe back."

The event involvedmore than 40 volunteers who at firstwere not sure what to expect from the Rodeo,but were enthusiastically shouting they wouldbe back next year, said Christine Jeibmann,of Northwest Natural, who assisted with thisyear’s rodeo. "The comment I heard mostoften was that the rodeo was so much fun,"she said. "The volunteers were wonderful.Everyone was assigned a duty and they didan outstanding job to make the rodeo flowsmoothly. The best thing is that anyone canvolunteer."

Jeibmann calls the event truly rewardingfor those who were competitors, organizersand volunteers. "Just watching these guys andgals you learn a thing or two," she said.

The rodeo began as a way to recognizethose within the locating industry for theirprofessionalism and often demanding job.First-place winners in each division received$300 in prize money and an all-expense paidtrip to the International Rodeo in Atlanta.Prizes were also awarded to second and thirdplace locators in each division.

The first Northwest Regional Rodeo drewcompetitors from as far east as Walla Walla,Washington and as far south as Coose Bay,Oregon.

Plans are underway for the 2007 Rodeo tobe held June 21-23 at Clackamas CommunityCollege. "We believe word will be carried furtherthrough the Northwest by competitorsand volunteers," Stencil said. The rodeo willbe reaching out to other states beyond Oregonand Washington including Alaska, Idaho andMontana.

Illinois Hosts Midwest

Regional Rodeo

It was an equally beautiful summer day onJune 29 when 30 utility locators tested theirskills at the first Midwest Regional UtilityLocate Rodeo at the Planet Underground inManteno, Illinois. The event, presented byJULIE, Inc. (Illinois’ One-Call System), wasdescribed as the "academy awards for utilitylocators" by one of the volunteers.

Locate professionals competed in fourseparate divisional events including electric,gas, telecommunications and water as well asa challenging bonus event. Competitors had12 minutes to complete an event and threeminutes to complete the bonus event.

"This high profile event provided an excellentopportunity for utility locators to showcasetheir skills in an essential area that is oftenoverlooked in the construction industry," saidMark Frost, executive direct at JULIE, Inc.

The board of directors for JULIE, Inc. approvedthe proposal to host the rodeo last fall.Dave Van Wy, damage prevention managerfor JULIE, Inc, had volunteered for the lasttwo years at the International Rodeo and wasapproached by one of their organizers abouthosting a regional event. He became the 2006chair for the Midwest Rodeo.

Excitement filled the air as volunteersand competitors gathered for the mandatorymeetings and trainings on the day precedingthe competition. "This rodeo was longoverdue," said one volunteer noting thatshe learned a few things from the group shejudged that will prepare her for assisting innext year’s competition.

Another participant was impressed withthe camaraderie and spirit of competition aspeers within the industry networked with oneanother.

Also modeled after Georgia’s InternationalUtility Locate Rodeo, the Midwest event drewmost participants from Illinois with one outof Missouri. Volunteers came from Illinois,Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Plans are underway for the 2007 event tobe held June 28 at Planet Underground inIllinois. The competition will once again beopen to any utility locators in Illinois, Indiana,Iowa, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.

"With our first event a huge success, weexpect to draw a larger pool of competitorsas our volunteers and competitors spread theword about the event," Van Wy said.

One thing is for sure, the volunteers areready to come back. "The comment we heardmost often was we will certainly volunteeragain," said Kevin Chmura, Director of PublicRelations for JULIE, Inc.

First place winners in each division received$500 cash prizes with an invitation to competein the International Event in Georgia. TheMidwest Regional also paid their registrationfees in Atlanta. Second and third place winnersalso received cash prizes. Locate instrumentmanufacturers joined in the action as well.Schonstedt’s Jim Bach provided a $100 Lowe’sgift card to any competitor that placed in thetop five during the Bonus Event using Schonstedtequipment. Pipehorn, Ditchwitch, 3M,Ridgid and Rycom also provided equipmentfor use during the Bonus Event.