Across the world, ISA members have dedicated their efforts to promoting the professional practice of arboriculture and fostering greater awareness of the benefits of trees. The ISA Member Spotlight allows ISA to share our members' stories and recognize their accomplishments and contributions to the arboriculture industry. This month, ISA is highlighting Bradley Rhea.
Rhea is the Right of Way Superintendent for Volunteer Energy Cooperative in Tennessee. He entered the arboriculture industry after earning a bachelor's degree in wildlife and fisheries biology from Tennessee Technological University.
Right after college, he worked at a feed store and in the evenings at a restaurant as a starting point. Trying to figure out his next steps for his long-term career path, Rhea decided to reach out to a former classmate to ask what she was doing with her degree.
“She said, ‘I’m a utility forester,’” Rhea recounted. “And I said, ‘Number one, what is that? Number two, are you hiring?’ I got in and involved with the contractor in consulting utility forestry, then the NGEMC (North Georgia Electric Membership Cooperative) in Georgia, and it took off from there.”
Rhea said he really embraced the field and grew to love the industry. Joining the ISA was a natural next step, as it is common for those in utility consulting to have an ISA membership. In 2015, Rhea decided to advance his career further and earned his certification as an ISA Certified Arborist®.
Moving out of utility consulting and into his current role as right-of-way superintendent, Rhea collaborates extensively with cooperative members. While knowledge is always beneficial, he said he appreciates that the certification provides tangible proof of his expertise.
“It has helped me get to where I am today and has helped me advance in my professional career,” Rhea said of being an ISA member and credential holder. “I’m grateful to them for that.”
As right-of-way superintendent, Rhea oversees utility tree trimming work in Tennessee, including assigning crew tasks, managing project timelines, collaborating with contractors, and working with their members and customers.
His main focus is vegetation management along rights-of-way in and around electric utility lines. Due to this, Rhea said he hopes to see a trend toward greater public education regarding vegetation management and the industry.
“Most cases, vegetation management doesn’t just affect the person and their property; it might affect somebody 100 miles down the road, if you have an issue,” Rhea said. “Another thing is I feel like this industry really needs to push more and reach out more to high schools and trade schools, to promote the industry as a whole by trying to get people interested and let them know how vital the work is we do to keep the lights on.”