by Courtney Miller

First off, NEPPA would like to thank all the vendors and participants who participated because without them this event would not be possible. NEPPA’s E & O Conference, which was held at the Sturbridge Host Hotel in Sturbridge, M,A on Thursday, May 16th was a huge hit and knocked the local flea market right out of the water! You would have no idea that this event was not run last year as a result of NEPPA’s move from Milford, MA to Littleton, MA. The attendance and performance from both the vendors and the participants was outstanding.

The conference began Thursday morning with NEPPA’s President, Barbara Grimes, introducing the keynote speaker, Bob McCall, who is the General Manager of Duke Engineering and Services, Inc. located in Charlotte, NC.  Mr. McCall’s presentation, "Getting Safety to the New Level," captured the attention of our members and had them actively engaged in his presentation.

Bob was very passionate when he spoke about safety and how/why it is so important in the Lineworker field and why it must always be used properly. His message was most certainly heard and respected by everyone in the room. NEPPA looks forward to having Mr. McCall join us again at one of our conferences in the near future.

Following Bob McCall’s presentation were three sessions that also had success in both performance and attendance. Tim Richardson & Kathy Castro, from Control Point Technologies, spoke about "Distributed Generation," while Jackie Pratt, from Shrewsbury Electric and Cable Operations, was down the hall talking about behind the scenes of "Emergency Communications," inside the office verses outside in the field. Meanwhile, David Morrissey, from Consulting Engineers Group, talked about "Arc Flash and FR Clothing."

The main event took place in The Hawthorne Exhibit Hall, which contained 46 vendor companies from all around the Northeast area. Companies such as Greenlee, ALTEC Industries, and Stuart C. Irby filled up the parking lot with bucket trucks, equipment, and other products useful to utility companies.

There was a lot of foot traffic inside the exhibit hall where many conversations between the exhibitors and participant took place. 

Lunch was held in the Exhibit Hall, where the participants were able to walk around, visit the booths, and talk to the vendors. 

After lunch, Scott Coleman, from Seton, spoke about "Global Harmonization," while Adrian "Adi" T. Horrell, from ABB-Tropos, talked about "Network Communications." Please be aware of the New Global Harmonization System Training Requirements that must be completed by December 1st, 2013! If you need training, please call the office at 978.540.2200.

In the afternoon, the exhibit hall opened back up for the reception and a raffle was held. Such prizes given out were Red Sox Tickets, shirts, mini trucks, and flashlights. The grand prize was a Kindle Fire, sponsored by Marmon Utility - Hendrix Aerial Cable Systems. It was presented to Anthony Fahie, from Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant, by Jermaine Wiggins, a Former NE Patriots Tight End. Jermaine spoke to groups of people during the reception, took pictures with the participants, and signed autographs.   

Following the reception was the dinner, sponsored by The Okonite Company, where Jermaine grabbed the attention of everyone in the room with his story of becoming a Tight End for the New England Patriots. He spoke about how as a child he dreamed of being a professional football player, but never thought he would get the chance. Even until today it still seems surreal for him at times, but playing on the field is something he enjoys to do and is grateful that he had the chance to do so.  

The second day of the E&O Conference consisted of an early breakfast in the morning, followed by a Board Meeting, and a Safety Summit/Roundtable – Work Smart: Work Safe! The presentation was given by one of NEPPA’s trainers, Bob Henriksen and was a great success! His emphasis on working smart and working safely summed up the event nicely and the audience was engaged. NEPPA’s Director of Training, Steve Socoby, also talked about safety in the work field and then after, they both answered questions from the General Formen, General Managers, and Lineworkers.

Now that NEPPA’s 2013 E&O Conference is over, we are eager to plan next year’s event and hope that you will join us again!