SLIDESHOW, Click on photo for more

The Discover Burien Annual Dinner Awards & Silent Auction last night, March 2, brought a warm sense of community to the room at the Burien Community Center as attendees bid on auction items and honored award winners while dining on meals, including sumptuous dessert, supplied by area purveyors.

Host Scott Schaeffer, Publisher, B-Town Blog and SoKing Internet Radio warmed up with crowd with his light-hearted humor and introduced Brian Frederick, Discover Burien President, who spoke, too, and later presented the Citizens' Awards.

Those included the Business Leader Award, which went to the popular Dan House, owner, Tin Room & Tin Theater. He honored his staff and mother, and praised other nearby restaurants and pubs that have opened since his establishment.

The Student Leader Award went to Elliott Newsom of Highline High School. Margie Gibb received the Volunteer of the Year Award. A founding Board member, she actively volunteer with the Burien Farmers Market. Doug Query got the Team Clean Sweep Recognition Award.

Guest speaker was Ashley Fosberg, Highline Schools Foundation for Excellence. The Foundation later received the Non Profit of the Year Award. According to its website, "The Highline Schools Foundation for Excellence was established in 1999 with the purpose of providing community resources to help Highline Public Schools succeed. We believe that by helping to enrich the classroom and school experience, we can engage students to reach a higher level of learning, and the entire community will benefit."

Representing Highline Times Newspaper, brothers Tim and Ken Robinson took the stage to present the annual Highline Times Robby Award which went to Douglas Moreland, attorney, 30 years in Burien, and many years as a civic activist. Although he was not present, the Robinsons amused the audience by walking them through Mr. Moreland's life, using props such as boxer shorts and dolls to punctuate touchstones in his life, which you can view in our slideshow.