Gord Hrycun

Gord Hrycun, aka “The Racoon”, is a Journeyman Carpenter/Scaffolder by trade and is currently the Business Representative for Local 1325 The Alberta Regional Council of Carpenters and Allied Workers.  Gord has been a member of Local 1325 for over 33 years and a Business Representative for over 7 years.  Gord does not work on the Sturgeon Refinery Project but many of his members do so Gord is a regular visitor to the site.  Gord has worked on many of Alberta’s major projects from beginning to end and it always gave him a sense of accomplishment when he could look back at a completed project knowing that he had been a part of building it.  “You did your best, made a few friends, made a good living, and had some fun along the way”.  Although Gord is now a Business Rep he still loves to get out of the office and into the field and gets satisfaction when he’s able to assist a member or contractor.  One of the things he likes about the Sturgeon Refinery project is its location to Edmonton and everyone is home each night with their families.  Gord’s work philosophy is be the best you can be and “work safe, play hard, and buy Canadian”.

Over the course of his career Gord has gained the respect of many of his member and contractors and has a clean file after 30 plus years at the hall but the accomplishment Gord is most proud of is convincing his wife to marry him.  While Gord worked all over Alberta in the lean years she single handily raised their family.  Even though she too worked, the kids never missed school, hockey, or dancing. “She has always had my back”.  Gord’s advice for the next generation of O&G construction workers is to build on your accomplishments and learn from your mistakes.  Get it done right, safely the first time, family time trumps overtime, and learn to live on 40.

Gord lives in Edmonton and in his spare time likes woodworking – model cars to waterwheels and everything in between.  He also likes to fish but says he doesn’t own a decent fishing rod so he guesses fishing will have to wait until he retires.  You may be wondering why Gord is aka The Racoon.  At work no one could pronounce his last name and when it came to the radio there was always more than one Gord on the radio so The Racoon was an easy call sign – and the name stuck!  If Gord could possess one super-human power it would be to instantly separate fact from fiction.