For all the hype and fanfare surrounding the upcoming Invictus Games, the event’s CEO Michael Burns gets the most out of the little things.

Burns told the Star that he was thrilled to hear that Team Afghanistan landed at the airport Thursday morning and were greeted by 200 Canadians of Afghan descent.

“I was told there wasn’t a dry eye in the airport,” he said. “They were overwhelmed by the expression of love and support from their community here.”

Burns took a leave of absence from his job as a vice president at AudienceView, an ecommerce company, to take the lead at the Games.

“To be involved with an international (competition) on your home soil, and to be able to contribute as best I can… it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” he said.

Burns has never run a sporting event, but he has experience working with military members, as he co-founded the True Patriot Love Foundation, a charity that supports military families, in 2009.

He was inspired to start the foundation after his friend’s son was killed by a roadside explosion in Afghanistan.

“We’ve all been to funerals, but to be at a funeral of a fallen soldier is very different,” he said.

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