Meet Stephen McBurnie! Stephen is one of our security guards who is often the first person to greet you when you visit CBE.
Stephen McBurnie
CBE Security
Photographed and Interviewed by Nate Jaffe, Communications Associate
Originally from St. Georges, Grenada, Stephen McBurnie has been working at CBE for 20 years. But it’s not just his long history with the CBE community that makes him an invaluable part of our security team, it’s his big heart. If you have ever walked through the front doors of the Temple House, you’ve almost definitely been greeted by Stephen. He welcomes every person who walks through our doors with a friendly smile on his face, and quite often, a high five!
“Back in the day I was working for a security company that had a contract at CBE, and I was guarding a different location in the city. The guard at CBE at the time went on vacation and I was assigned to hold his place for just two weeks. The executive director offered to have me stay full time and I never left.” – Stephen
Nate: Describe a past experience, from any point in your life, that defined or impacted who you are today.
Stephen: March 13, 1979 in Grenada, there was a coup against the corrupt government that me and my friends joined in. I ended up joining the army a year after. Because of that experience, I always think about people who can’t help themselves, who are being taken advantage of, and how I can help.
Nate: If you could meet anyone in the world dead or alive who would it be and why?
Stephen: Obama. Because I like his policies trying to help people less fortunate. He tried to unite the whole country. When he became president, he was not just the president for the United States but for the whole world. I feel very privileged to see the first black American president.
Nate: If you had to eat one meal, every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Stephen: Rice and fish. Fish is something I liked as a small kid. We used to go fishing, me and my friends.
Nate: What’s your favorite quote or mantra?
Stephen: Whenever someone asks me how I am, I always tell them “I can’t complain”. I have a job, food, roof over my head. Things people don’t have. I never take what I have for granted, so I can’t complain.
Nate: How do you define success?
Stephen: I think in life, success is something you do. People think that you ask for something and it just comes to you. You have to make it how you want it. You have to go out and find it.
Nate: What is the most used emoji on your phone?
Stephen: I always use a laughing face. And in life, no matter what happens to me, whenever I see the kids here at CBE laughing and smiling, all my problems go away.
Nate: Would you rather have the power of invisibility or have x-ray vision, and why?
Stephen: Invisibility, you can do a lot of things to help other people better than just yourself. You can help someone along the way, and they wouldn’t even know it was you.
Support Stephen in the upcoming CBE Fun(d) Run!
Honor Stephen’s many years of service by supporting him in the CBE Fun(d) Run on May 19!
Click here to donate.