Lineman Nahome Retta enjoys serving the city and being able to help those in need.
As a lineman, he responds to power outages, installs new line in newly developed subdivisions, and maintains and upgrades the line. He will also help other utility divisions when they require a boom truck or meter reading.
“Personally, I really love working on the line,” he said. “I just love this trade. I really respect it. You have got to respect it to understand the danger of it. I love being able to provide the service to the people. When tragedy happens, like tornadoes and ice storms, you’re pretty much the hero putting the power back. I love interacting with customers. It isn’t just serving power, but really making a difference and passing down the good energy, not just electric energy. It’s very special to serve the city you live in and you grew up in.”
Nahome went to college to become a lineman. After graduation, he worked for a contractor in Florida for several years before returning to Fulton. While there were no open positions for linemen, he worked as a meter reader until one became available.
“I’m from Ethiopia. I came here when I was seventh or eighth grade,” he said. “This is my hometown. This is where I grew up. This was where I wanted to stay because I’m very family oriented. I never wanted to leave to begin with, but when the time came right to come back home, I moved back home.”
Nahome has worked for the City of Fulton for three and a half years, having graduated from the apprentice journeyman program in December of last year.
When he’s not on duty, he and his wife like spending time at their lake house. He also likes to golf, fish, and hunt.