A Morning in the Life of Mac McDonald, Maintenance Team Member Extraordinaire
Video by Jesse Paddock
1-minute read | 4-minute watch
When a golf cart operated by a goateed man clad in a ball cap and gray uniform rolls through the heart of Durham Academy’s Ridge Road campus, an enthusiastic wave or shout from passersby is rarely far behind. So it goes in the orbit of Mac McDonald, a fixture of the DA facilities team for more than 30 years.
His unfailingly sunny disposition and unwaveringly good humor have endeared him to multiple generations of DA students and faculty. They’ve come to know that the day-to-day business of DA — ferrying Middle School students to and from the Upper School, making timely repairs in classrooms, setting up seating for graduation ceremonies — isn’t magic. It’s the result of devoted, and often unseen, work by maintenance team members like “Big Mac.”
McDonald, of course, is far too gregarious and voluble to remain unseen for long. DA videographer Jesse Paddock learned as much when he tagged along with Mac on a recent morning to get a glimpse into his daily routine — one that involves ample cheeriness, hilarious collegiality and a golf cart made conspicuous by its irreplaceable driver.