NC grandmother keeps the peace working as a security officer
WILMINGTON NC March 11 2018 — In 1996, JoAnn Johnson was a single mom looking for a good job. She focused on an advertisement for the former Burns International Security Agency.
An application and interview in the Wilmington office led to the East Bladen High graduate being hired and trained as a security guard, beginning her 21-year profession.
Johnson said her two young children did not question the new job’s safety issues or her time away from home. Now her adult daughter, a high school history teacher, and her son, an Air Force staff sergeant, know they benefited from her venture into what was then an unconventional career choice for an African-American mom.
“Back then Burns Security Force had a lot more men than women of any race,” she said.
Women security guards are more common now than they were in the 1990s when JoAnn Johnson started her career.
Her current supervisor at Allied Universal Security Services, David McCoo, confirms that times have changed.
“When I began working in security in 2001 there were definitely more men than women,” McCoo said. “Now for my section it is almost evenly split by gender, 50 percent.”
He also emphasized that they are an equal opportunity employer and all are trained the same.
McCoo said Johnson is one of the best, “just an excellent dependable worker.”
Patrons of Hanover Center can see her walking around the businesses there. She has never experienced a hostile or negative encounter during her public contacts.
Over the decades her duties have ranged from guarding upscale gated communities to dealing with panhandlers and breaking up potential altercations among college students.
“I think it depends on how you really treat people and how they will respond to you when you approach them,” she said. “If I stop a biker who is riding on a sidewalk, or approach anyone, they usually apologize and stop what they are doing wrong.”
“My sister says I have such a stern look it’s no wonder I don’t have any problems,” she said and laughed.
Star News Online
