Friends, family and colleagues gathered on Thursday at the Alberta Research Council, now part of Alberta Innovates — Technology Futures, to celebrate the career and retirement of their “resident dinosaur.”
Terry Macyk, an expert in land reclamation, has been with the council for 43 years. First applying as a student assistant in 1965, he didn’t land the summer job until 1967, and he hasn’t looked back since.
“I can honestly say there hasn’t been one day when I haven’t gotten up in the morning and said, ‘I want to go to work,’” said Macyk.
His land-reclamation work revolved around ensuring the Alberta landscape is restored after heavy industrial activity, such as well drilling or coal or oilsand mining.
The list of awards for Macyk is a long one, and a few of his colleagues have been lucky enough to witness some of these major acknowledgements.
“There have been lots of great memories,” said Joseph Beres, who’s worked with Macyk for 40 years.
“Terry grew up on the farm and besides being academic, he worked in the field with us too, like he was one of us,”
The Alberta Research Council has chosen Bonnie Drozdowski, who has worked closely with Macyk over the past few years, to take over his stead.
“He’s taught me not just about reclamation, but about life in general,” Drozdowski said.
