Octogenarian Volunteer Fills Important Need
By Gwen Ernst-Ulrich, Rocky Mountain Region 
If there were a contest to recognize the oldest U.S. Forest Service volunteer, 87-year-old Rocky Mountain Region volunteer Joe Jurceka would probably win hands down.
But he would also be a strong contender for longest federal volunteer, having spent the last 20 years donating approximately 30 hours a week to help the federal government do its work.
Joe has donated over 8,000 hours to the Rocky Mountain Region’s geometronics unit of the engineering staff since October 2000. Before that, he volunteered for 12 years with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), his former 28-year employer.
Three days a week, Joe walks the four blocks from his home to the office and spends about nine hours engaged on cartographic products. His most challenging project has involved working on wilderness boundary descriptions for the entire region, a task requiring strong initiative and the need to learn difficult technical language dealing with geographic features.
According to his supervisor, Cartographer Bob Malcolm, Joe’s willingness to explore, research and proceed with this project on his own accord has made a huge difference to the workloads of other staff members. “Joe inspires everyone through his positive attitude and cheerful personality,” Malcolm added.
Joe has also been an asset to the geometronics team on field trips to such places as Brainard Lake and Dillon Reservoir when the group has gone out to set control targets for photogrammetric projects.
Others in the building can attest to Joe’s constant smile and pleasant words for everyone he meets.
Born in Chicago of immigrant parents from what is now the Czech Republic, Joe’s early career included working with Nobel Prize winners Enrico Fermi, Willard Libby, and others at the University of Chicago.
Joe came to Denver in 1960 to take a job as a mechanical engineer technician with USGS. He and his wife of 55 years, Vera, raised a family of three, two boys and a girl.
Joe smiles when he says, “Before I started working in geometronics, I had never used a computer!” His mastery of that technology is evident as he maps, edits, and writes material using a computer that boasts two monitors.
Joe admits he loves maps, and his only regret about his Forest Service volunteer work is that he didn’t join the agency sooner.
For more information on working with senior volunteers, contact Rocky Mountain Regional Office Administrative Officer Marlette Lacey at (303) 275-5325.
FS Today home | Forest Service Home | USDA.gov | recreation.gov
FOIA | Accessibility Statement | Privacy Policy | Non-Discrimination Statement | Information Quality | USA.gov | White House