Lineman Steven Crouch has worked with Alabama Power for eight years. Growing up in Eufaula, he watched Alabama Power crews at work and decided that’s what he wanted to do one day.

“I spent a lot of time outdoors growing up. I would see the line crews and think that would be nice, being outside, doing something different every day,” Crouch said.

Alabama Power crews work to restore outages after storm damage in Reform. (David Bailey/Alabama NewsCenter)

Alabama Power crews restore outages after storm damage. (Phil Free/Alabama NewsCenter)

Lineman works to repair poles and cables in Hoover. (file)

Lineman works to repair poles and cables. (file)

Crews restore power outages in Montgomery. (file)

Alabama Power crew pose for photo after restoring power in Georgia. (Photo courtesy of Alabama Power.)

Alabama Power crews work to restore outages after storm damage in Reform. Crews joined restoration efforts from other states including Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and as far away as Oklahoma. (David Bailey/Alabama NewsCenter)

Alabama Power crews were ready to provide assistance, but it wasn’t needed as Winter Storm Stella’s impact was not as widespread as predicted. (Michael Tomberlin / Alabama NewsCenter)

Police assist while storm crews work to restore outages following storms in a Birmingham neighborhood. (Winter Byrd/Alabama NewsCenter)

Alabama Power crews will activate based on the severity of storms, damage and outages. (file)

Crouch, who played football at Huntingdon College, said a line crew is as tight-knit of a team as he has ever been on. “It’s the same kind of feeling,” he said. “We are a team and operate like one. We look after each other. Our goal is to work every day safely.”

One of the most memorable events as a lineman for Crouch was traveling to storm-ravaged areas of New Jersey following Hurricane Sandy.

“Seeing the relief in people’s faces when their electric service was restored and hearing how grateful they were really gave us a warm feeling,” he said. “Knowing that you are providing a needed service is a nice thing.”

The Eufaula line crew responded recently when a tornado touched down in Henry County. Despite having several poles down and transformers out, power was restored in a safe and timely manner.

“We also had straight-line winds blow through Eufaula earlier in the week,” said Jim Freind, Southeast Division Distribution manager. “In both cases, the crew exceeded my expectations in restoring power.”

In addition to serving the company’s 1.4 million customers in Alabama, Alabama Power linemen are often called away from their families to restore power in neighboring states after major storms. On April 5, every region of Alabama was affected as crews restored service to more than 79,000 customers.

Alabama Power has more than 1,300 Transmission and Distribution covered employees who work to keep the lights on every day. Though not all of their titles are “lineman,” all work on the system to ensure the lights stay on in Alabama.

Crouch is but one example of the linemen being recognized on National Lineman Appreciation Day. The Alabama Legislature has designated the first Monday of June to recognize “these brave men and women who are essential to the protection of our communities and our nation.”