Meet Robert Ray from Michigan. He climbs flagpoles. Through NIFDA, we learned of Robert’s nerves of steel and hired him to climb the 30 ft. flagpole atop the five story Federal Bankruptcy Court building in downtown Little Rock.
Today, most flagpole repair work is done with two men and a bucket truck. But the location of this pole made that difficult.
Robert is a rare breed of professional. According to him, there are only about 14 flagpole climbers left in America, which is why he flies and drives all the time. Last Tuesday, he flew to Little Rock, climbed the Federal Building, surveyed the frozen pulley, then hung in the air while he sent my staff on the ground for his recommended hardware. Sometimes, Robert uses a drone to survey the tops of flagpoles, but not this time. He was only in town for five hours.
Robert is sometimes able to mix work with pleasure; before our job, he had just come from a Key West flagpole repair. Next week, he will be heading west.
