The McCook team celebrates the career of Pedro Nunez.

After more than 40 years on the job, Pedro Nunez - described by peers as a dedicated worker determined to bolster safety and maintenance at McCook Quarry - has retired from Vulcan.

"In my earlier years when I first started with Vulcan about 19 years ago, he was always willing to educate me on how the buildings ran and other things," said Mike Saban, McCook Sales Manager. "He was just a great coworker to be around. He was good people."

Nunez finished his career at Vulcan in the McCook Tertiary Plant as a skilled laborer. He counted among his skills the ability to weld, torch, perform belt splices and change pulleys and bearings.

His day-to-day job involved inspecting the plant to identify potential maintenance issues before they might occur and to make routine adjustments. He knew the plant like the back of his hand, coworkers said.

They called him proactive and said he served as a fine example for other workers.

"In the 40 years he was here, he took about 10 sick days," said Plant Clerk Kim Fuller. "He was always here on time. He was just a happy guy - a hard-working guy."

During recent safety audits, Nunez pointed others to places where he thought an additional measure of safety might be warranted.

"He's very helpful and he provided some good advice on how we might improve safety," said Rex Lindsey, the plant's Human Resources, Safety and Health Specialist.

Nunez will be dearly missed, his coworkers said.

"We're proud to count workers like Pedro, who come to work each day determined to make McCook Quarry a safer place," said Lindsey. "Pedro left very big shoes to fill, and we wish him only the best in his retirement."