This September, the Indiana Municipal Power Agency was once again honored to present the Kerry Vincent Distinguished Lineworker Award at its annual Linemen Appreciation Event to a deserving linemen in a member community.
The 2024 recipient of the award was Stan Siefert, Manager of Jasper, Indiana’s electric utility. Siefert’s dedication to the local area extends beyond his history with Jasper’s utility. For over three decades, Siefert has prioritized safety, integrity, and reliability in his work. He ensures that the electric department team adheres to stringent safety standards, underscoring his commitment to performing jobs responsibly and getting his team home safely after a hard day’s work. For 27 years, he has been a valued member of the fire department in Ireland, Indiana, including 23 years as the Fire Chief. He has also spent countless hours volunteering his time and labor to a local non-profit organization that provides equine therapy to people with life challenges, whether they be physical or mental.
The Kerry Vincent Distinguished Lineworker Award was established in 2021 to honor the life and legacy of Kerry Vincent, a longtime employee of IMPA, an advocate for public power, and a friend to so many in the public power industry who passed away that same year.
Kerry Vincent was hired as IMPA’s Manager of Technical Services in 1999 and took on the role of leading the newly formed IMPA Service Corp the next year, while the program was still in its infancy. Vincent had previously worked at Richmond Power and Light (RP&L), where he began his career as an Engineer and later served as Line Superintendent for the utility. His innate knack for understanding distribution system problems and solutions allowed IMPA Service Corp to blossom, and IMPA’s small utilities viewed him with the upmost trust whenever they experienced issues with their infrastructure. Vincent’s talents and hard work attracted more utilities to IMPA membership in the years to come and helped retain confidence in existing members. It was under Vincent’s leadership that IMPA Service Corp grew to become the successful operations and engineering organization that it is today.
Vincent’s passion for the industry and the brotherhood of linemen was evident in everything he did, and his kindness and unshakeable spirit made him a good friend to all who met him. He always had time to share a story or advice with other people the industry, and he never met a stranger. His unfortunate passing only a short time after his retirement was a profound loss to the public power community.
In 2021, IMPA established the Kerry Vincent Award to recognize a lineworker from a member community that embodies the traits Vincent exhibited in his everyday life: Commitment, Compassion, Character, and Community.
Vincent’s legacy continues to impact IMPA and its membership, and the Agency is proud to honor him through recognizing the many remarkable utility workers in its member communities.
“I knew of Kerry because my dad, a foreman at RP&L, worked for him. I met Kerry when I worked at RP&L in the summer as a college student, and I was fortunate to work with him more closely through the 20 years that he was here at IMPA,” said IMPA President and CEO Jack Alvey at the 2024 Linemen Appreciation Event. “He truly was a talented and dedicated worker, and his concern for others was unmatched. While his presence will always be missed, we hope to do our part in carrying on his memory with the Kerry Vincent Award.”
Past Recipients
2021 – The first recipient of the Award was RP&L employee, Bob Lichtenfels. Lichtenfels’s lengthy career with RP&L began in 1973 when he started working for the utility as a janitor. He earned his Journeyman Lineman card in 1979 and became Line Foreman in 1994. Before retiring from the utility, he served as Assistant Transmission and Distribution Superintendent. As a devoted and knowledgeable lineman who served as a mentor and friend to many, Lichtenfels is known as a caring individual who helps anyone in need.
2022 – Dick Justice, Electric Superintendent of Gas City Utilities was the second to earn the award. Justice has served his community’s electric department for nearly 40 years, serves as the current Chairman of the IMPA Board of Commissioners, and is the past president of the Indiana Municipal Electric Association. He is known for his tremendous work ethic and leadership, as well as his sense of humor that can bring a smile to anyone he meets.
2023 – Randy Hendrickson, retired Line Superintendent of Crawfordsville Electric Light and Power, was honored with the third Kerry Vincent Award. Hendrickson spent 37 years serving his city’s utility, but his dedication to the community extended far beyond his work. Many know him as a long-time volunteer for the local school system, driving buses in the evenings and weekends for students. Hendrickson is also an active member of his church and has served in countless roles with the school system and not-for-profit groups in Crawfordsville. He continues to work for municipal utilities as an instructor and educator through the Tennessee Valley Public Power Association.