Employees of Perry’s Parrish Electric Inc. may not be related by birth to owners Randy and Donna Parrish, but many of them come from a long line of Meridian graduates the Parrishes consider to be family.

The Parrishes consistently hire employees from Meridian Technology Center’s Electrical Technology program, the same school where Randy Parrish got his start.

“Randy began his electrical career by taking electrical classes [there],” said Donna. After graduating from Meridian, Randy worked in the industry for eight years before he and Donna opened their business in 1995.

The small family-owned company has since grown to 14 employees. “Our foreman, Neil Tucker, was our first Meridian grad,” said Donna, “hired fresh out of the Meridian electrical program in May of 2008.” This past May, the Parrishes hired four more graduates, including James Nunn and Dillon Luckey.

The Parrishes work closely with program instructor Wayne Ford to identify rising stars. “Mr. Ford does a great job of preparing his students for the workforce. When we have an opening, Mr. Ford is our first call,” Donna said.

“Mr. Ford called me into the office one day right as I was finishing up [the program], and he said he found a job for me to apply for,” said Luckey. The other students had similar experiences.

Luckey was glad he applied and said, “Working here has been awesome. The people are really friendly, and I’ve learned a lot.”

All of the Parrish’s Meridian hires are Oklahoma-licensed Electrical Apprentices, which means they work under a journeymen electrician for further on-the-job training until gaining enough hours to be licensed as a journeyman. This typically takes about four years.

The hires get diverse experience through the company’s commercial, residential, oilfield and industrial contracts. From schools, to small businesses, to the Oklahoma State University Student Union’s Chick-fil-A, they do it all. “New construction, additions, remodels, upgrades and pole line construction are just a few of the services we offer,” said Donna.

Each of the graduates said their time at Meridian prepared them well. “I wasn’t overwhelmed at all going in,” said Nunn.

Luckey agreed. “The things Mr. Ford taught me at Meridian gave me a really good head start,” he said.

Meridian’s Electrical Technology program can be completed in one or two years. Students begin with residential electrical training and can continue on to the more advanced commercial electrical program. For more information about the program, visit meridiantech.edu/electrical.

Meridian Technology Center has been a driver of economic development since 1975. With a mission to educate, enrich lives and secure economic futures, Meridian offers full-time career training programs, short courses, Business and Industry services and entrepreneurial support to residents from the Agra, Carney, Glencoe, Guthrie, Morrison, Mulhall-Orlando, Pawnee, Perkins-Tryon, Perry and Stillwater school districts. Meridian is one of 29 schools within Oklahoma’s CareerTech system.