by Cindy A. Abole, Public Relations

It was a typical spring morning for MUSC physical plant employee George C. Ellis. He was crossing through G lot on his way back from an electrical call when he noticed something out of place on the grey, paved parking lot. His eyes focused on a black wallet sitting on the ground.

Almost instinctively, Ellis scooped up the wallet and headed directly towards MUSC’s Public Safety Office on Doughty Street. There, he turned it over to Debbie Wagenbrenner, Public Safety’s administrative assistant and Lt. Raymond Boynton, staff inspector. During their inventory check of items, they were surprised to discover $970 cash, credit cards and other identification.

“There was no question in what he (Ellis) had done,” said Wagenbrenner. “He knew he was doing the right thing.”

With the activity of ongoing construction around the horseshoe area, Wagenbrenner wondered if the wallet belonged to nearby construction personnel. A few phone calls later showed this wasn't the case. Boynton took the next step and returned with Ellis to the scene. At the parking lot, they noticed a man who matched an identification card found inside the wallet hovering around a car nearby the discovery site. The owner who was from Miami, Fla., had previously arrived from Myrtle Beach in the early hours that same morning. He was visiting a child who was just transported from the Grand Strand area to MUSC hospital. He also discovered that his wallet was missing.

After verifying its identity, Boynton returned the wallet to its rightful owner. The visitor was so pleased with Ellis’ honesty that he awarded Ellis with $50 cash.

“Basically, people are pretty honest,” said Boynton, who’s been on the force since 1986. “We have more of a problem returning missing stuff back to the right people. There are about 6,000 people on campus. We were able to identify and return a lost item to its owner within 10 minutes. That’s a pretty good system.”

Asked if he did not regret keeping his discovery: “It made me feel better to turn it (wallet) in,” said Ellis, an electrician who has been with MUSC for 19 years. “Because of that, I know I can sleep peacefully at night.”

“Honesty is what we can expect from physical plant employees. Sometimes you get the feeling that people who serve in working positions don’t care.” Boynton said. “They really do and they realize the value of things to people.”

Ellis is one who has been good about returning lost or misplaced items. “It’s so important to practice what you preach,” said Ellis, who strives to be a good role model for his son. “With our crew of 14 electricians, it’s not unusual to find tools laying around or forgotten now and then. My co-workers know the type of honesty they can expect from me.”