One last project – Dan Horochuk to step down

By Jordan Thompson

Capital projects manager for the North Okanagan-Shuswap School District (#83), Dan Horochuk comes from a construction background and is currently overseeing the construction of the new M.V. Beattie Elementary School. After serving over 25 years in the business, Horochuk has decided that he will step down from his position and leave the school district once construction of the school is complete. “I’ll be retiring from the school district, but will probably do some consultation and general contracting work,” Horochuk says. “And I might do some private work based around that, but I’ll defi nitely be scaling back and likely only working part-time.” Before Horochuk became involved with the schooling industry, he spent 13 years working for a general contractor. After that, he began working as a ticketed carpenter for what was then the Armstrong School District and two years later, in 1986, Horochuk moved up into a management position within

the school district. “I looked after the maintenance department, which included managing custodial staff, electricians, plumbers, carpenters and ground staff,” Horochuk says. “I was also taking on a lot of the capital work, which involved managing money for building upgrades and school additions, renovations and roof upgrades. My background in construction made me a good fi t for that.” In 1996, the Armstrong School District amalgamated with the Salmon Arm School District to become what is now known as the North Okanagan-Shuswap School District. Upon the merging of the two school districts, Horochuk moved into the position of the assistant director of operations, holding it for two years before becoming manager of operations in 1998. “I held that position until about a year ago,” Horochuk says. “Since we’re now building this new school, I had an opportunity to take this position and oversee the completion of construction, and once that’s complete I will retire.” “Being the capital projects manager makes me a representative for the school district. I work in direct consultation with the design team, architect, engineers and general contractor. I also manage the construction budget for the school district, as well as monitor the overall progress of the project.” While M.V. Beattie Elementary School is currently operational, Horochuk explains that the old building has quite simply run its life expectancy and that is why a new school is being built, right

on the same site. Construction began in May of 2010 and is scheduled to be completed by October of this year. Once all of the hazardous material is removed from the old building, it will be demolished, and that site will be used to construct playgrounds, parking lots, and bus lanes, among other things. “The current plan is to move the kids into the new building around November 11,” Horochuk says. “They might end up missing a day or two of school, but we would likely try to plan to do it over a long week in order to avoid that. We may also just decide to leave it for now and move them over their winter break.” Bob Hardy, executive director of the Educational Facility Managers Association of British Columbia (formerly the School Plant Offi cials Association), has known Horochuk for over 20 years and says his contributions to the industry are many and won’t soon be forgotten. “Dan’s made quite a large contribution to the association throughout his years in the business,” Hardy says. “Anytime Dan was called upon to assist, he answered. And for somebody who has been with the association for so long, he deserves to be recognized for all that he’s contributed before he leaves.” As Horochuk describes what he imagines his retirement will be like, he chuckles, saying it will be nice to have the time to do all of the things he never had time for before. “My wife and I love to travel,” he says. “We’re actually going to retire at the same time. I play hockey twice a week, and it will be nice to be able to play at 10 in the morning instead of 10 at night. We’ve also got a cabin on Mabel Lake; there will be a lot of things to fi ll our time.” As Horochuk prepares to step down from his position and the association, he refl ects on his time spent working at what he loves. “The construction industry has been very rewarding for me because you actually have something tangible that you can see when you fi nish a project,” Horochuk says. “It’s great to be able to take something from the planning stages right through to completion, and at the end of such a long project you actu-

Dan Horochuk.

ally have something to show for it.”

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