Aces of Trades: Joe Alexander always wanted an outdoor career
CHILLICOTHE – He loves his work – and his office.
“As a kid growing up in southern Ohio, I was always outside and looking for the next adventure,” recalled Joe Alexander. “We were constantly in the woods building forts or down at the creek building dams. So I always knew I wanted to end up with a career that allowed me to be outdoors.”
Today, Alexander is a utility forester with AEP Ohio.
“Simply put,” he explained, “my job is to help keep the electricity on for our customers by keeping our power lines and equipment free of trees and branches. To do this, my team and I manage over 1,000 miles of electrical lines and oversee the tree crews throughout several counties including Adams, Brown, Gallia, Highland, Jackson, Lawrence, Pike, Pickaway, Ross, Scioto and Vinton. Every four years, our team looks for both trees too close to our lines and trees that are dead or dying. Once identified, we trim and/or remove them.”
“My territory has a lot of trees,” he added, “which means when storms hit, there’s the potential for more tree-related outages. During storms, our forestry team is often the first on the scene. We work as safely and quickly as possible to clear trees and branches from around our lines and equipment. Our efforts clear the way for the line crews to restore power.”
“Restoring power following storm damage is a lot of work,” he noted, “but it’s also my favorite part. It’s really rewarding when our line workers flip a fuse to restore power to a whole neighborhood and you see their lights come back on. It makes you feel like you’re truly helping the public.”
Alexander, 44, grew up near Hillsboro, graduated from Miami Trace High School in 1997, then earned certification as an ISA-certified arborist and now has 25 years’ experience working in utility forestry. He joined the AEP Ohio team in April 2020.
“You could say I took the ‘long route’ in my career,” he said. “Right out of high school, I started in an entry-level position where I helped tree crews by setting up work sites with cones and signage and cleaning up all the brush the crews trimmed by dragging it to the trucks to be chipped.”
“From this start,” he continued, “I manually climbed the trees that needed to be trimmed near power lines and equipment. Then I transitioned to working as a crew leader. After that, I was responsible for the trees we’d trim or remove and addressing customer concerns or questions. Finally, I worked as an assistant forester where I gained a comprehensive understanding of our safety policies and expectations across the board.”
Rich Simpson is the region forestry supervisor with AEP Ohio.
“Joe’s efforts with AEP,” said Simpson, “are all about improving service to our customers and providing for a safer workplace for both employees and our contractors. He always exceeds expectations and is truly a team player.”
“When I was younger,” Alexander responded, “becoming a utility forester may not have been a thought, but I always could see myself in the arboriculture industry. Needless to say, my dreams came true and now I have the privilege of finding ‘the next adventure’ in my day-to-day career.”
“My office stretches across beautiful southern Ohio,” he summed, “and I couldn’t ask for a better ‘office’ and career. No two days are the same and you never know what new challenges or opportunities you’ll encounter. At the end of the day, we’re here to help, and there’s no greater feeling than that.”
About the Series
Aces of Trades is a series focusing on people and their jobs – whether they're unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at gaznews@nncogannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Aces of Trades: Joe Alexander uses his skills as a forester for AEP
