Honoring Outstanding Organizers After a Historic Year of Growth

Twenty-four thousand new members.

International President Kenneth W. Cooper shared this stunning figure, which represents the IBEW’s growth over the past 12 months, with attendees of the union’s annual Membership Development Conference in August.

“That’s more than we’ve organized in any year in the last half-century,” Cooper told the Chicago gathering of organizers. “That’s 24,000 men and women whose lives have been made better thanks to the security and stability of IBEW membership.” 

When Cooper took office in 2023, he set a goal to get the union to 1 million members by the end of the decade.

“That is now closer to reality than ever,” he said. “After decades of playing defense and clinging to what we had, we’re finally going on the offense, taking back work that’s rightfully ours.” 

The three-day organizing conference closed by honoring organizers and business managers who distinguished themselves over the past year in support of the union’s effort to grow its ranks. 

Here are some of those winners and their stories.

IBEW Business Managers of the Year

IBEW Business Managers of the Year


See an IBEW-made video about Jeff Wheeler’s accomplishments.

Indianapolis Local 481’s Jeff Wheeler, the IBEW’s 2025 Inside Construction Organizing Business Manager of the Year, practically fell into electrical work when he joined the union 35 years ago.

“When I came out of high school, they didn’t recommend the trades,” Wheeler said.

He lasted three years in college studying accounting — “I absolutely hated it” — and supported himself with an automotive service job. “I absolutely hated that, too,” he said. 

A co-worker invited Wheeler to join a weekend basketball league. That’s where he met Tommy O’Donnell, a Local 481 business representative who tried to recruit Wheeler into the IBEW. 

He was initially resistant, but after six years at the “hated” service job, Wheeler agreed to let O’Donnell set him up as a helper with a Local 481 contractor. O’Donnell also made sure Wheeler applied for an apprenticeship.

“All I wanted was to do my 30 years as a wireman,” said Wheeler, who was honored in August during the annual Membership Development Conference in Chicago. 

But within a few years of topping out, Wheeler began fielding offers for foreman and labor superintendent work with increasingly large contractors. He later served Local 481 as treasurer and assistant business manager, and in 2020, he was tapped to complete a former business manager’s term. 

“We’ve had a huge list of stuff to work on,” said Wheeler, who is now in his second elected term. 

For example, the local has successfully fought for a maternity-leave benefit and for restoring full-family insurance for all apprentices and construction electricians. And last year, it repaired a long-standing pension credits problem. 

“He steadied the ship, and I’m proud to work for him,” Local 481 Business Representative Jason Burcham said.

Local 481 has negotiated two record-breaking contracts in recent years. 

“And our organizing has been phenomenal,” he said. “This year, we’ll pass 4,000 members,” from electrical workers and installers to casino workers and staffers with the state’s Democratic Party.

“Jeff represents the very best of what it means to be an IBEW leader,” said Sixth District International Vice President Mike Clemmons. “He’s grounded in our traditions but forward-looking in his approach, always focused on lifting up members and growing the union.”

Wheeler and his local’s organizers also have been working with bilingual electrical workers to find IBEW jobs for Indiana’s Spanish-​speaking electricians.

“We have over 100 such workers now,” Wheeler said, with more workers and contractors signing up. “We’ve opened a floodgate.”

The local has also captured a flood of projects. “Last year, we did a little over 5 million man-hours,” Wheeler said. “This year, we predicted we’d do 5.5 million, but we’re going to blow that away.”

Wheeler is grateful for the opportunities he’s had in his career. “It’s provided me everything that I wanted,” he said, including supporting his wife and paying for a college education for his two daughters.

“I was just looking for a career, and it turned out really good,” Wheeler said. “But I’m nothing special. I just showed up every day and did the job.” 

Also at this year’s conference, Memphis, Tenn., Local 1288’s Corey Hester was named Professional & Industrial Organizing Business Manager of the Year because of his focus on bringing new hires into the IBEW and bringing back members who left. After years of declining numbers, Hester and his team brought in 91 new members over the past year, momentum that gives Local 1288 high hopes for the future.

Outside Construction Organizing Business Manager of the Year honors went to Beaumont, Texas, Local 2286’s Johnny Johnson, whose team has been steadily working on growing the IBEW’s market share at Entergy. Thanks to these efforts, Local 2286 is fast becoming Entergy’s preferred choice over nonunion workers. 

IBEW Organizers of the Year
IBEW Rank-and-File Organizers of the Year
Largest One-Year Growth in New Members
1Newark, Ohio, Local 11051,377
2Washington, D.C., Local 261,325
3Vacaville, Calif., Local 1245946
4Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, Local 20853
5Vancouver, British Columbia, Local 258678
6San Antonio, Texas, Local 60602
7Phoenix Local 640588
8Diamond Bar, Calif., Local 47508
9Richmond, Va., Local 666475
10Knoxville, Tenn., Local 760461
11Wichita Falls, Texas Local 681458
12Atlanta Local 613435
13Salt Lake City Local 354423
14Columbus, Ohio, Local 683417
15Los Angeles Local 18399
16Houston Local 66368
17Kansas City, Mo., Local 124356
18Philadelphia Local 126351
19Vancouver, British Columbia, Local 213342
20Columbus, Ohio, Local 71340
Largest One-Year Membership Growth by Percentage
1Wichita Falls, Texas, Local 681146%
2Newark, Ohio, Local 1105131%
3Wilmington, N.C., Local 495125%
4Danville, Ill., Local 53880%
5Winston-Salem, N.C., Local 34263%
6Racine, Wisc., Local 43063%
7Oxford, Ohio, Local 228743%
8Meridian, Miss., Local 91741%
9Raleigh, N.C., Local 55338%
10Reno, Nev., Local 40137%
11Monroe, La., Local 44637%
12Richmond, Va., Local 66636%
13Mansfield, Ohio, Local 68831%
14Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Local 16330%
15Alexandria, La., Local 57630%
16Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, Local 2029%
17Lexington, Ky., Local 222027%
18San Antonio, Texas, Local 6026%
19Kenosha, Wisc., Local 12726%
20Charleston, S.C., Local 77623%
Top Five Outside Employment Market Share, Last Three Years
1Vacaville, Calif., Local 124598%
2West Frankfort, Ill., Local 70298%
3Syracuse, N.Y., Local 124998%
4Kansas City, Mo., Local 5397%
5Hartford, Conn., Local 4292%
Top Five Outside Employment Market Share, Last Three Years
1Jamestown, N.Y., Local 10699%
2Oak Ridge, Tenn., Local 27098%
3Collinsville, Ill., Local 30997%
4Peoria, Ill., Local 3495%
5Wheeling, W.Va., Local 14192%

All Impact Award Winners

Inside Construction Business Manager

Jean-Marc Ringette – Local Union 502

Joe Walsh – Local Union 99

John Olejnik – Local Union 163

Pat Hook – Local Union 683

Ken Green – Local Union 446

Jeff Wheeler – Local Union 481

Ryan Charney – Local Union 692

David Carranco – Local Union 278

Jeremy Redman – Local Union 291

Robert Westerman – Local Union 932

Noel Sherman – Local Union 474

Jacob Nye – Local Union 13

Inside Construction Organizer

Tylor Linton – Local Union 502

Alvin Reyes – Local Union 99

Bill Garner – Local Union 5

John Collins – Local Union 26

Dustin Parker – Local Union 194

Joshua                  Stern – Local Union 159

Jason McIntosh – Local Union 481

Ken Kolp – Local Union 665

Skylar Kowalick – Local Union 681

Jared Melton – Local Union 291

Michael Schreck – Local Union 191

Anthony Webb – Local Union 714

Inside Construction Rank and File

Noah Flanagan – Local Union 353

Charlie Poling   – Local Union 596

Zach Michaelson  – Local Union 291

Mike Nalewaja –  – Local Union 1547

Outside Construction Business Manager

Brian Murphy – Local Union 104

Mark Lawrence – Local Union 1249

Todd Kessler – Local Union 71

Johnny Johnson – Local Union 2286

Kevin Owen – Local Union 57

Colin Lavin – Local Union 47

Scott Thrower – Local Union 379

Benjamin Bush – Local Union 53

Outside Construction Organizer

Jose Ramos – Local Union 42

Gene Bailey – Local Union 1249

Calvin  Martin – Local Union 71

Sergio  Estrada – Local Union 769

Justin Roberts – Local Union 89

Glenn Sutherland – Local Union 379

Mike Keith – Local Union 2

Outside Construction Rank and File

Jeremy Combs – Local Union 71

Zac Sandoval – Local Union 1002

P&I Business Manager

Domenic Murdaca – Local 636

Joe Malcarne – Local Union 420

Jordan El-Hag – Local Union 1430

Woodrow Jacobs – Local Union 410

Aaron Goodrum – Local Union 538

Mike Henry – Local Union 738

Chris Sanderson – Local Union 206

Nick Carpenter – Local Union 659

Corey Hester  – Local Union 1288

Brian Brawley – Local Union 753

P&I Organizer

Allan Locke – Local Union 1620

Victor Perugini – Local Union 420

Nick Coyle – Local Union 237

John McRannolds – Local Union 2220

Crystal Reeves – Local Union 160

Jedon Shinpaugh – Local Union 220

Andrew McKercher – Local Union 47?

Eric Wilkinson – Local Union 1439

P&I Rank and File

Troy Clancy – Local Union 869

Andrew Reese – Local Union 33

Derek Maurath – Local Union 2100

Farbod Mohsenian – Local Union 952