When Dusan (Danny) Makale first arrived in Alberta he worked for the Edmonton District Planning Commission from 1950 to 1956.  After, Danny formed perhaps the first exclusively planning consulting firm in the Prairie Provinces.  He maintained his private practice as an independent professional planning consultant to his death in 1985.  Through his private practice, he made a major contribution to planning throughout Western Canada and the Arctic, not the least of which were the services he provided to many small municipalities before provincial or territorial governments had the manpower to serve them.

Danny's long standing belief in the need for professionalism in planning is exemplified by his service to the Institute.  He served on the National Council of the Town Planning Institute of Canada in the late 1960s, becoming President of the Town Planning Institute of Canada for 1971-72.  He represented TPIC at the International Federation for Housing and Planning in Belgrade (1971) and the Commonwealth Association of Planners in New Delhi, 1973.  Danny was also a dedicated participant in the Alberta Affiliate of CIP and the Community Planning Association of Canada. 

He received recognition of his service to Canada through his professional work by the award of the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal in 1978.

Over his planning career of work of 35 years, people knew his intensity on behalf of his client, in pursuit of frivolity, and in the promotion of the profession.  But Danny also had a quieter aspect to his intense nature—he studied art, history and philosophy throughout his life.  He was a keenly intelligent, caring, sensitive, and well educated gentleman.  He brought his personal traits and broadly studied understanding of the human condition together with his professional skills to always strive for the best result.  He never accepted less than the best from anyone who worked for him, but he never expected more than they were capable of producing.

Danny was sometimes a controversial figure, and there were very few people who worked near him that did not disagree with his stance on one issue of another.  In fact, Danny would want to be known where he stood and he spoke his view on issues, and respected those who, through their convictions, stood and opposed him.  Heated discussions, thought provoking arguments, and expert planning testimony were forums that Danny frequently enjoyed and they demonstrated his intense commitment to planning and development in western Canada.  His deep commitment to planning and the planning profession was something he fostered in people who worked for him, and, at the same time, was a central component that other planning professionals respected in him.

Danny's background, training and experience before coming to Alberta were as rigorous as they were eclectic. He felt in Western Canada we had the freedom and privilege to voice our views and shape our future.  Danny had fought for and lost his freedom in his homeland.  So a mark of his life was his persistent use of his intellect, innovation, professional skills and training to help people (public and private) shape their future communities.

George Rich, Associate Professor University of Waterloo, said "Danny, though treating his professional work seriously, was never overburdened with the solemnness of the occasion and usually managed to enjoy what he was doing.  He is an excellent example of the necessity for having a strong sense of humor to act as a safety valve when the immediate pressure of events tends to distort one's judgement.  He could keep things in perspective."

Danny made an impact on many communities, the profession of planning, planning practice, and numerous individual planners.