To those who insist on living in the past: Can’t we spend our energies on the present and the future of Burien? To letter writer Bob Pierce, there are some organizations that have served their usefulness - the Burien Improvement District for one, and of course the Merchants of Burien.

Actually, the Merchants of Burien’s demise began at the very outset with the use of an acronym, “MOB,” and a flyer with the silhouette of a gun. But it wasn’t all bad - and the business people in the “Merchants” helped blend the organization into a new, fully accredited non-profit organization - Discover Burien.

Discover Burien has brought together not only business people, but artists, civic volunteers, government employees, and a host of thoughtful, contributing people who have made Discover Burien what the “Merchants” strove for, but never obtained as structured.

Bob, you deserve plaudits for your contributions. But the future is now, so let’s remember each of the hugely successful community activities that Discover Burien and its energizer, Debra George, are bringing to our city. I serve on the Executive Committee and we recently reviewed Executive Director Debra George’s performance as our employee, and she rated tops in every single category.

Certainly you will be interested to know that Discover Burien was co-founded by 19 of your fellow citizens - citizens representing virtually all of the constituencies mentioned. You don’t have to be a member, but your support would certainly be welcome.

Dean Parkins

Secretary/Treasurer

Discover Burien