A Filipino in Yellowknife has been selected as the best manager of a McDonald’s restaurant in Canada, CBC reported on January 16.
According to CBC, Alex Bornilla received the distinction back in October last year.
“I wouldn’t say I’m the best manager, but I surround myself with a great crew,” Bornilla said in the report.
Bornilla started working at McDonald’s in Winnipeg when he was 16 years old.
He moved to Canada from the Philippines three years earlier, in 1995.
“My mom and dad worked hard, and I wanted to help. I wanted to be able to buy my own school stuff, not bother them with that,” Bornilla said.
He started at the bottom and got promoted always.
“You know running a multi-million-dollar business; back in the day when I was a teenager, no way, that’s impossible, sort of thing. But yet, here we are,” Bornilla said.
Despite his reservations about taking credit for the award, he’s clearly passionate about bringing the best out of his employees, according to CBC.
“To me, it’s almost like teaching the kids and the crew and unlocking their potential too. They always tell me stuff like, ‘I don’t think I can be the next crew trainer or team lead.’
“Once we get rolling and training starts happening, it’s like, ‘Look what you’re doing, look where you’re at.'”
In 2003, he moved north to Yellowknife with his wife, Sousanh Chanthalangsy.
His wife is now a well-known local chef and food truck operator. They met as co-workers at McDonald’s.
He’s been managing the local franchise in Yellowknife since then and says he still finds it rewarding after all these years, the CBC reported.
“Teaching responsibility, showing [young people] what it’s like in the real world. Sometimes you go to a job, and it’s one strike, you’re out. Here we kind of ease them up to it,” he said about his job.
“Most of them take it with them when they go to university, the confidence they’ve built up when they were here. They tell me, ‘My teacher really likes when I do presentations because I’m confident, I talk.'”
The award came with an etched glass plate, which Bornilla keeps in his office, the CBC reported. He also got a $700 bonus with the award.
Photo Credits CBC News