MICHAEL OGLESBY
Title: Journeyman Electrician
Company: Charles R. Morton Electric, LLC
Location: Lithonia, Ga.
Age: 24
Years on the job: 4
Michael Oglesby was born into a family of skilled tradesmen, but he is the first to work as an electrician. As the son of the owner of an HVAC company, he says he has enjoyed building and fixing things since he was a child.
“I thought it was cool that I could walk into a room, turn the lights on, watch TV, or play video games,” he says. “This sparked my interest and desire to understand how electricity worked so I could bring light to the world.”
As a journeyman electrician, he enjoys the mentoring aspect of electrical work, and he says he was blessed to learn this process from a group of “extremely exceptional” people. Charles Morton, the owner of the company, says he is a “walking data bank” when it comes to electrical and does not mind sharing his knowledge with others. Oglesby says he enjoys the mentoring process.
“I enjoy watching the growth of someone who started out brand new, knowing absolutely nothing, but now can build an electrical service alone or wire a house because they have been empowered by the knowledge in which I shared with them,” he says. His own passion for learning new things led to his current job as a lead journeyman.
“My daily goal is to be able to learn something new and accurately apply it in the field,” Oglesby says. “I like to know everything about any project I’m part of.”
For example, he has learned how to use new applications and technology. While he says technology in the electrical industry is vital to the success or failure of a project, knowing how to build a job on paper or read a set of blueprints is also extremely important.
“I was fortunate enough to come into the trade at a time where everything was starting to transition as far as markups and 3D building models,” he says. “This shift granted me the opportunity to learn many of the traditional and current methods of doing things.”
Case in point: Morton didn’t allow him to buy an electric saw until he first learned how to use a hand saw. He says he was blessed to learn the traditional methods before moving on to the technological advances in the electrical trade. He eventually learned how to use a design program, and Morton says he cannot pull him away.
“He wants to design every job we have,” Morton says.
Morton says Oglesby is not only an excellent electrician who is consistently exceeding expectations and setting the bar very high, but also an outstanding individual overall.
“He comes in early, stays late, and even works on his off days, weekends, and holidays to get the customers taken care of,” Morton says. “All customers love Michael for his respectful demeanor, honesty, and for being personable.”
In the future, Oglesby hopes to one day be a vice president or partner at Charles R. Morton Electric LLC.
“My plans for the future are to continue to bring light to the world as an electrical contractor and as a good human being,” he says. “I will keep learning and growing in this amazing field.”
