School leaders, SGA president reflect on beloved custodian
Photo courtesy of Monica Lee.
Kim McBride hugs her son Jacobi after his graduation from Madison Academy. McBride was killed in a car accident in February.
If success in life was measured by the number of times a person put a smile on the face of someone else, Kim McBride would be considered a high achiever, people who knew her well said.
“Every day … you could count on her for a smile,” said Jack Cobb, SGA president at Liberty Park Middle School.
Making middle school students smile is a big deal, Cobb said.
“If you can get them to smile, it makes their day so much better,” he said.
For 13 years, that’s what McBride did in her job as a custodian at the school. Each day for those 13 years, she came to work and put a smile on the face of her coworkers and students.
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Photo by Neal Embry.
After the passing of Liberty Park Middle School custodian Kim McBride, students and staff created a memorial garden in her honor.
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Photo courtesy of Monica Lee.
Kim McBride with her daughter Ryan and son Jacobi.
This past February, students and staff lost their beloved friend and coworker. McBride was killed in a car accident Feb. 15.
“It was awful,” said Yolanda Williams, McBride’s coworker and fellow custodian at Liberty Park. “It was one of my worst days.”
“It still doesn’t feel real,” said Sierra Braxton, another of McBride’s coworkers. “It’s hard to believe.”
In May, toward the end of the school year, students and staff at Liberty Park dedicated a memorial garden in McBride’s honor.
“We knew we wanted to do something,” said Haley Boyd, a teacher and sponsor of the SGA at the school.
Cobb said the SGA gathered and started asking, “Who was Kim?” in an effort to find the best way to honor her memory and legacy. Ultimately, students decided she stood out for her work to make the school a better place and for her outgoing personality. Planting a garden was a way to honor her effort to improve the school and also creates a place for people to talk and have conversation, something for which McBride was known, he said.
Williams described McBride as feisty and happy-go-lucky. If she wasn’t smiling, you knew something was wrong, Williams said.
It did not matter to McBride who walked through the front doors of Liberty Park Middle School, whether it was a student, a parent or the superintendent, her coworkers said.
“She could be friends with anybody,” said Alison Noble, a teacher and co-sponsor of the SGA with Boyd. “She was just a special person.”
McBride’s sister, Monica Lee, said McBride loved her job and would “give people her last.”
“She was a beautiful person inside and out,” Lee said. “She was just a blessing.”
McBride often would tell her sister about the kids at school and was proud of them, as well as being proud of her two children, Jacobi and Ryan, Lee said.
Jacobi is a preferred walk-on on the football team at the University of Alabama. While he didn’t play during his freshman season, he was chosen as one of the non-playing team members who would still attend the game, and his mom was able to travel with him to watch the Crimson Tide win the national championship this past January.
“When he [Jacobi] got that notice … she was on cloud nine,” Noble said.
Family played a huge role in McBride’s life, Lee said.
“She was my best friend,” Lee said. “We did everything together.”
At the ceremony honoring McBride, Lee talked about making amends and not letting there be any regrets — something she was glad didn’t happen between her and her sister.
“I’m so glad I don’t have to say should have, would have, could have,” Lee said.
Being able to attend the ceremony meant a lot to Lee, she said.
“It was so touching, and I was so grateful and blessed,” Lee said. “That made me feel so proud to be her big sister.”
When students and staff were planting the garden, students began bringing shoes, due to McBride’s noted love for shoes and her ability to wear a different pair almost every day.
“Every day, someone would say something about her shoes,” Williams said.
Williams said she would sometimes have to remind McBride to get back to work because McBride would often find herself talking to someone or practicing a new dance she had learned for the kids. She also made sure to provide for the students around her, she said.
“If she saw someone in need … she would stop and help,” Williams said.
Fellow custodian Billy Hickman said McBride was known for leaving encouraging sticky notes on the desks of teachers, and Boyd said McBride cared not only about the teachers, but also their families.
“My husband adored her, and she loved my kids,” Boyd said.
“If she knew you, she knew your whole family,” Williams added.
Noble said McBride had the ability to brighten a bad day, whether with an encouraging word or with a silly dance between the two of them in the hallway.
Boyd said she’ll miss the daily conversations she had with McBride the most. “The hallways are a lot more boring now.”
To further honor McBride, the school will begin awarding the Kim McBride Sunshine Award each year to an eighth grade student, beginning with the 2020-21 school year. This year’s recipient was Joi Cook. The award is given to a student who exhibits the characteristics for which McBride was known: friendly with all people, inclusive to all groups, a “daily ray” of sunshine and positivity, respectful and a conversation starter.
Noble said she hopes Liberty Park students have learned from the example McBride set in having close relationships with so many different people throughout the school.
“Hopefully it will remind students that friendships aren’t limited,” Noble said. “You just have to get to know them.”
