Past and present members of the Burien Breakfast Toastmasters and guests recently celebrated their 50th anniversary with a dessert reception.

One of the original charter members, Al Sasonoff, was in attendance and shared anecdotes about the early years of the club. When the club was originally founded on Feb. 6, 1960 there were charter 20 members.

During the last 50 years hundreds of people have belonged to the club.

On display was the collection of interesting club memorabilia, collected over the years by the late Gil Duffy, a prominent citizen of Burien. The artifacts displayed showcased the changes made over five decades of club history.

Duffy, a prominent member and club corner stone joined "Burien Breakfast" in 1967. He was the club's treasurer for 40 years and remained an active member until the time of his death.

The club honored Duffy's memory and many contributions to Burien Breakfast by announcing a trophy in his name to be awarded to the winner of the club's International speech winner in the spring and the District Humorous contest held on a local level in the fall.

In the one half century that Burien Breakfast has been in existence it has been honored many times by The International Toastmasters.

One of the honors was in 1973, District "Best Club of the Year." Club members have won District Level contests in the International, and Humorous, Evaluation Contests and the annual Table Topic contest, which showcases a Toastmaster's ability to speak extemporaneously on a subject.

The Burien Breakfast Club meets on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month from 7- 8:30 a.m. in the Highline E.R.A.C. building. Visitors are always welcomed. For more information phone 206-246-9183.