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Florida Power and Light Company (FPL) lineworkers reach extraordinary milestones throughout their careers – from enhancing the electric grid during sunny skies to responding on the frontlines after hurricanes and severe weather.
One former FPL lineworker recently reached a personal milestone worth celebrating.
John “JJ” VanRiel turned 90 years old on Nov. 14. A unique feeling, right?
“No different than 89!” JJ said with a laugh.
VanRiel’s journey began as a helper in 1956 – a supporting role where someone gains experience and training in the field with more experienced lineworkers. Then, after six years as an apprentice, VanRiel became a lineworker, traveling up and down Florida’s east coast from his home in South Florida to his service area in Cocoa.
“I worked with a really good foreman, and his wife only charged me $15 per week for breakfast, lunch and dinner,” VanRiel recalled, reflecting on his weekdays in Brevard County before going home to Miami-Dade County on the weekends.
It’s just one of countless stories that comprised VanRiel’s 41-year career with FPL, including memories responding to hurricane restorations in Naples, St. Augustine and Miami, specifically after Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
“It was something else,” said VanRiel. “Everything was down.”
Bringing electric infrastructure back up alongside his coworkers was part of the camaraderie he loved about his career – even if it meant taking some playful grief from his wife, Von, at home.
“There was a hurricane coming and we were held over to secure the yard before we could get home…and she said, “you love the company more than you love me!” VanRiel said, laughing.
For his 90th birthday, VanRiel – donning his Hurricane Andrew restoration team T-shirt and an FPL bucket hat – was surprised when the camaraderie he revered so much made its way back to where he currently lives in Stuart.
An FPL crew of lineworkers – with a familiar bucket truck – pulled up to his celebration to showcase the new and reminisce about the past.
“[The bucket truck] looks exactly like what I had!” JJ proclaimed, excitedly looking at the FPL-branded bucket truck, reflecting on the differences and similarities. “They now have tinted windows, power steering, automatic transmissions and I don’t know if they have air conditioning or not! I had a lineman that when I was driving, he would hold a pad out of the window so wind would come into the cab!”
VanRiel – who advanced to a foreman in his career – retired from FPL in December 1997, earning an appreciation plaque from FPL’s South Dade Operations team. Still a student of the company’s infrastructure improvements, JJ says he’s most impressed by the volume of concrete poles on the system and automated switching technology.
And, it was a worthwhile visit for the crew who learned about what it took to deliver reliable electricity in JJ’s time before starting a day of providing the same level of service.
“To listen to his stories and his memories of all the things he did in his career was amazing. We couldn’t be happier and prouder to celebrate his birthday with him,” said Larry Gross, FPL Treasure Coast area manager.
