Most people take shelter when storms rage and power flickers. For Jason Slaughter, that’s when the real work begins.
As a lineman, he’s first on the scene, braving the elements to restore power and ensure safety. “You’ve got to be ready to drop everything — whether you’re sitting with your family at dinner or whatever else — to go help other people,” he says. “It’s kind of a calling.”
As a third-generation tradesman, Jason continued the legacy of his step-grandfather, James “Jim” Armstrong, who worked in Georgia and Alabama, as well as his father, Steven Slaughter, who worked for Georgia Power and Bell South.
Jason recalls childhood days playing in his dad’s bucket trucks, just as his own son does now. “We’d talk about the trade and how hard it is,” he remembers. “And how to save your body.” Despite his father’s advice to leave the field early, Jason insists, “I’m going to be out here until I’m 78, still first up the pole.”
Though deeply connected to the trade, Jason pursued owning a small business and farming — even retrofitting Jim’s climbing hooks to scale trees. “Honestly, all I ever wanted to do was farm,” he admits. But life had other plans.
When his mother was diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer, she urged him to return to school. Encouraged by his father, Jason chose line work. “I went to line school and never looked back. I wish I would’ve started when I was 18. I love it. It’s one of the best things that ever happened to me.”
The job is more than a paycheck; it’s about community. Jason recalls battling a brutal winter storm in Redstone Canyon — snowdrifts, hazardous roads, silent radios, and dropped calls. “We finally get everybody back on, and we were like, ‘Great, we’re done!’” But leaving the radio dead zone, the crew discovered a hundred more outages. Without hesitation, they continued, knowing their work wasn’t finished until every home had light and every family had warmth.
Despite the risks, linemen’s sacrifices are often misunderstood. “People don’t realize how quickly things can go wrong, how dangerous it is if you’re not on top of your game every second of every job,” he explains. “When we show up, people are frustrated. They don’t always see what it took for us to get there, that we’re risking our lives minute by minute.”
After grueling shifts, he crawls into bed for a few hours of sleep before his son jumps on him. “And even after two hours of sleep, I get up and go — because it’s all worth it.” His motivation is simple: provide for his family, make his son proud, and continue a legacy of service.
For Jason Slaughter, being a lineman is a calling, a tradition, and a commitment to our community. And as long as the lights need turning back on, he’ll be there — rain, snow, or shine — ready to answer the call.
His father’s words still echo: “Iron men. Wooden poles.”
