Security Matters

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What I Do Matters: Lee O’Dillon

What I Do Matters: Lee O’Dillon

Lee O’Dillon has been an armed Security Officer with BOS Security for almost four years. Prior to entering the private security industry, Officer O’Dillon worked in law enforcement for 37 years, eventually becoming Chief of Police in Watkinsville, Georgia. 

When asked about his career change, Officer O’Dillon said, “It’s actually a perfect transition because so much of what you do is basically the exact same thing. Except in police work, you’re working for all of the citizens in the entire community whereas here in private security, you’re working for the client. You can concentrate better on meeting the needs of the client and doing things that they see as a need and need to be done correctly. You can just focus on your job a little bit better instead of having to worry about the big picture.” 

Officer O’Dillon is currently the full-time Security Officer at Westminster Christian Academy in Watkinsville, Georgia. Familiar with the community as a resident and former Police Chief, Lee has seamlessly integrated into the school community. While providing a visible security presence to deter criminal or unwanted behavior, Officer O’Dillon also acts as extra eyes, ears, and guidance for the staff, students, and parents. He says, “They have made me from day one a part of the family and to feel included in everything. It’s been a real good situation.” 

What I Do Matters Because…

“If I don’t do my job like I am supposed to do to the best of my ability, if I don’t perform the job I’m hired to do, people can literally get injured, get killed. Bad things can happen with the world we live in today. A Christian school environment, unfortunately, becomes a target. So, we want to make sure that does not happen here. I need to be a good representative of not only BOS Security, but the security industry in general. I need to make it clear that if you have bad intentions in mind, you need to either rethink that or go somewhere else because it is not going to happen here. We take this very, very seriously… I’m here to guard the flock, to make sure bad things don’t happen and that bad people don’t infiltrate the school grounds. That’s what I do all day, every day. I enjoy it. It’s what I want to do. This is a really great place to work.” 

The Most Rewarding Part of My Job Is…

“The most rewarding part of the job over here, believe it or not, is something I never really experienced in all my years of law enforcement. The staff appreciates you being here; they tell you so. The students, even the high school kids, appreciate you being here. They realize why you’re here. The parents of all the kids realize why you’re here. But by far, the best thing is the little ones. The little ones will routinely speak to you. I’ve learned their names. They’ll want to come give you a hug and thank you for being here. That beats anything else in the world-when you’ve got Pre-K, kindergarten, and elementary school aged kids who you actually look forward to seeing every day. It becomes a big family… You can feel the appreciation when you work here.” 

What Are You Most Proud of at Work?

“I think it’s the relationships we’ve developed with the staff here. These teachers over here are unbelievably good. They care. Everything that’s done at this school, the level of supervision, has amazed me. Anything that the kids do, either classroom-wise or athletic-wise or anything else, there is always, always school supervision of what’s going on. Making sure that what’s happening is what’s supposed to be taking place. It’s not just kids sent off on their own to go work on projects… The teachers know not only the students, but the parents. The lines of communication between the teachers, the students, and the parents are wide open and that’s something that’s new to me, it’s unique to the education system. That’s something I’ve really been proud to see. It’s kind have renewed my faith in human nature, being over here and seeing that the whole world has not fallen off the edge the way that some news media would have you think. When you come over here and see what’s going on and what’s happening on a day-by-day basis, the care that they put into these students and the time and the effort. It renews your faith in the whole system.” 

Interested in a Security Career?

For those interested in entering the security industry, Office O’Dillon offers this advice:  

“Keep your nose clean. For a security career or a law enforcement career, you’ve got to have a really good, clean record. You’ve got to have good intentions. If you have any doubt in your mind that you would not do the right thing when circumstances present themselves, then stay away from those lines of work because it’s going to bite you. It’s going to get you in trouble. You want to be a good representative. If you’re in a law enforcement agency, then that agency and if you’re working for private security like BOS. BOS has a very good reputation, not only in the community but in the security community as well. You better have the right intentions and if not, you’re going to get in trouble.” 

Officer Lee O’Dillon is dedicated not only to protecting his clients’ property but also to serving the community as a whole. Providing a visible and reliable security presence can both deter crime and build lasting relationships and confidence in school safety. He says, “All the students, all the parents, all the staff know that the BOS Security Guard is right around here visible somewhere, so if you’ve got any intention of doing something you’re not supposed to do, you better either rethink that or just go somewhere else.” 

If you are interested in learning more about a career in security, visit our job board or read more stories from our What I Do Matters series. 

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