Marc Byrnes on Family, Resilience, and the Power of Philanthropy

Welcome back to the show. We are here with Mr. Mark Burns, a graduate of U.S. Class of 1972 and recipient of Distinguished Alumni of the Year Award for U.S. in 2012. How are you, Mr. Burns? Feeling distinguished, thank you. You know, firstly, as someone who's achieved so much, professionally, and I know we're going to get into that, looking back, what was the biggest takeaway from your years at university school that's just stayed with you? The relationships, that simple. Have you continued, like, holding those friends close to you that you've had while you were at U.S.? You know, surprisingly enough, the answer to that is absolutely. In fact, I was with no less than eight of my classmates last week, had dinner with one just, in fact, last night with his beautiful bride. Wow. That's amazing to hear because a lot of people talk about, you know, their high school friends. They're only for high school, then everyone moves on. But it's cool to hear that at U.S., just stick with them. Well, you know, we create such a camaraderie and collegiality among the guys here, and, you know, these are lifelong relationships. And the coaches and the mentors that I had at this school were just extraordinary. And I just feel so honored to be able to hang around just with you guys right now. This is really cool. Thank you for having me. So, Charlie and I have both had the privilege of hearing a little about your journey through life. And while reading some of your interviews, you mentioned your unique childhood. Can you tell us some of that story? Sure. I am beyond blessed and fortunate. I was orphaned, placed in foster care, and ultimately adopted by the time I was one by a beautiful couple, Judy and Larry Burns. And to be perfectly candid with you, I am the lucky one. Because it turned out my birth parents, I found out 17 years ago, actually did get married. And they wound up having five kids, of which I was the oldest, and they found me, literally, 17 years ago. So it turns out I have five younger brothers and sisters, unfortunately, one of whom passed just recently. But notwithstanding, why was I so lucky? Because I was raised in the orphanage at Belfair, literally less than two miles from university school. And my parents sacrificed greatly to be able to pay my tuition. In fact, my mom, to her credit, actually took on the responsibility of a job from 5 to 11 o'clock virtually every weeknight. She would earn money by selling photography for weddings and bar mitzvahs and whatnot for a local photographer. And that's how she earned enough money to pay my tuition. And that's how she earned enough money to pay my tuition. And that's how she earned enough money to pay my tuition. Probably from about the 6th grade, beginning in 1965, until probably I was in the 9th or 10th grade in the early 70s. So, yeah. So I was very blessed. Seeing how hard your parents worked for your education, how did that motivate you to make the most out of your time at U.S.? Well, you know, having grown up back in the 50s and the 60s, one of the things you guys got to keep in mind and remember is that my parents, you know, they came out of the Depression. And their parents, literally, at one point in time, were on bread lines. All right? All right. And when you hear stories like that and interact with your grandparents and then realize the value of what they went through, and, you know, my dad fought in the war. He was in World War II over in the Pacific for a period of time. The two of them, when they started, didn't have two nickels to rub together. He was a nickel-and-dime bankruptcy lawyer trying to find his way in the world. And she would sacrifice greatly even for him to pay his tuition through law school. You kind of grow up feeling certainly not entitled, but very fortunate to have parents that have such an extraordinary work ethic. So that and my grandparents as well. And again, they adopted me, so I was the lucky one, kind of like the chosen one, if you will. And eventually, it wound up at university school, which was just uncommon back then. You know, having that unique experience, looking back at your early childhood, are there any fond memories or just lessons that you learned throughout those years that really just stick with you? Yeah. And I want to address this with you in particular, Charlie. My family lived in Beachwood initially on Concord Drive and Beacon. And the family next to us, was a large Catholic family. They had like six kids. And I was like an only child, because Judy and Larry didn't have any other children other than me. I view that as a plus and a minus, but notwithstanding. The Canfields were our next-door neighbor, and they ultimately sold their house and moved out, which was heartbreaking for me, because they taught me how to play football, baseball, basketball, and hang out with a lot of good kids. But they put their house on the market, and an African-American couple, this is 1963, came in to take a look at it. And the Canfields received horrific notifications, along with the realtor, not to sell. They sold their home to an African-American family. And they did. And I don't remember specifically, was the night the Canfields moved out, or the night the Lewis family moved in. But they burned a cross on their lawn. And I'll never forget waking up at 3 o'clock in the morning and feeling absolutely overwhelmed and scared. But Billy and Ronnie Lewis became two of my best buddies, and we played baseball in the front yard. And the neighborhood bully went by one day on his bicycle, and he was yelling stupid obscenities. You know, I'm Jewish, so anti-Semitic, and then racist comments. And I don't know what possessed me, but I ran, I knocked this kid off the bicycle. He was like twice my size. And my Uncle Arthur, who was a boxer, taught me how to box, and I gave him a great right fist. And then he proceeded to pummel the hell out of me. And I went home bloody and beaten, and my mother would say to me, what happened? And Ronnie Lewis said, he stood up for us. He stood up for us. And I'll never forget that. That's really, really cool. How has that experience just as a whole shaped your idea on inclusion, and like equality, and how those values influence how you lead and give back today? Yeah, you know, one of the greatest things that I had attending university school was I played in the first ever backfield with the first ever African American. His name was Sandy Cargill, who went on to Princeton. Great athlete, basketball player, track star, and one of the most incredibly humble guys that I ever met with. And to be able to be on the same field with him was pretty cool, because there weren't a lot of Jewish kids at university school back in the 60s, and there certainly weren't many African Americans. In fact, I think Sandy was one of maybe three or four at best. So if you look fast forward in terms of the extraordinary place the U.S. is in today, talk about diversity and equity and inclusion, I'm just so proud of where this school is in terms of how it's basically incorporated and provided a tremendous amount of, not just financially, but welcoming to wonderful guys like you, whose dads are superstars in the medical field and can afford to pay the tuition here, which is great. But, you know, I think U.S. has come a long way in that regard, and in particular with our curriculum and an opening to giving back to the community. And I think a lot of that was born back over the course of the last 30, 40 years because of having on board a lot of great students like you guys. I know you currently are the freshman football coach. How does your involvement in U.S. sports when you were a kid influence your leadership style and your approach to teamwork that you had later in life? Oh, that's really easy.