Macon Magazine

December 2025/January 2026 | maconmagazine.com 85 LEFT Specialized equipment is needed to effectively fix local electrical issues. ABOVE The crew gets ready to go out on a job, surrounded by downed light poles from previous vehicle accidents. LET THERE BE LIGHT O n a recent chilly late October morning after a previous rainy day, four men began their workday. "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." Some will recognize the above phrase as the unofficial credo of the U.S. Postal Service, originating back to Persian couriers from 5th century B.C. But this crew doesn't deliver mail. They are employees of the Macon-Bibb County Facilities Management Department, charged with keeping more than 3,000 lights in the county up and running. Electric Services Manager Jason Smith begins his day by prioritizing which of the many jobs he and his three-man crew are responsible for. The first task is to retrieve a downed metal light pole from an accident that occurred days earlier, after a vehicle crashed through a guardrail on Ocmulgee East Boulevard near Geico headquarters. The Facilities Management building is a veritable graveyard of light poles that have fallen from vehicle accidents around the city and county. Smith explains that the fallen metal poles can often be scavenged for parts, due to a feature at the bottom that causes the base of the poles to breakaway upon impact, which also is a safety feature that aids in some accidents not becoming fatal. Smith and his crew includes Frank James, Landrick Brantley, and Jayson Trujillo, the latter of whom is the youngest among the group, having been employed about a year. James and Brantley are both experienced, while Smith has been an electrician for 30 years. Upon arrival at the Ocmulgee East Blvd. site,

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