It was a discovery that could have changed everything. For Kaylie Cyr, a waitress at a Buffalo Wild Wings in South Portland, Maine, the envelope left on the table looked like the tip of a lifetime: $1,700 in cash. But a closer look revealed a name written on the front, and Cyr’s integrity immediately kicked in.
She knew it wasn’t a tip; it was a mistake.
Without a second thought, she turned the envelope over to her manager, a simple act of honesty that would soon ripple through her community. The money, it turned out, belonged to Glenn Morse, a regular customer and owner of Morse Builders. He had taken the envelope out to pay for his meal and accidentally left the cash—meant for his company's payroll—behind.
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The next morning, Morse realized his mistake and rushed back to the restaurant, not knowing what to expect. He was stunned when the manager calmly handed the envelope back to him.
"Anyone passing by could have picked it up," Morse told the Portland Press Herald.
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What surprised him and his friend, Ronnie Bates, even more was that the waitress who found it wanted to remain anonymous. A week later, during their regular dinner, they recognized Cyr and asked if she was the one who had turned in the money.
"She finally admitted she turned in the envelope," Bates recalled. "I told her I was really proud of her. That says something nowadays about someone’s character that they would do something like that. That $1,700 probably would have paid a lot of bills for her."
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Morse insisted on giving Cyr a $100 reward, a gesture that she said "blew" her mind.
"I was very impressed with her honesty," Morse said. "Not a lot of people would find an envelope of cash and have the grace to turn it in."
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Cyr’s choice not only impressed the customer but also her employer. Louie Golden, the restaurant's general manager, told ABC News, "We're super proud of her. She sort of exemplifies the habits that make her an awesome employee. She has extremely good qualities that we look for in everybody we hire."
For Cyr, the decision was simple. It was about doing the right thing, a principle she holds dear.
"Absolutely, I would do the same thing if I found the money again," she said. "It definitely wouldn't feel right keeping the money if it belonged to someone else. I know if it were my money, I'd be happy if someone returned it to me, so that was kind of my incentive."
This article originally appeared earlier this year.
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