Times/News columnist Earline Byers and attorney Clark Snure have been awarded Lifetime Achievement awards in the first annual Spirit of Des Moines Awards.
The awards were created earlier this year to acknowledge people who put time and energy into making Des Moines better.

Byers has been serving on organizations for Des Moines for the past 47 years.

She became the chair of most of the city committees/boards she was a part of. She was elected or appointed the chair of the Annexation of North Hill Committee, Des Moines Library Board, Parks and Recreation Board, Human Services Committee, Senior Services and as the Des Moines representative to the King County METRO Citizens Committee.

She created, implemented and conducted city council candidate forums.

She became a part of the Des Moines Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, when the chamber only had 30 members. After Byers served on the board for eight years, the Chamber grew to about 145 members.
Byers also wrote the first Chamber of Commerce newsletter, "The Chamber Column."

Twenty-five years ago she began the tradition of flowers and hanging baskets in the city. The practice continues in the Marina District.

Byers also brought back the tradition of fireworks at the Marina 30 years ago. The tradition had been dead for 15 years.
She also began to tradition of decorating the evergreen tree at Big Catch Plaza for Christmas each year.
Byers has written the twice monthly "Over the Fence" column about happenings in Des Moines in the Times/News for 15 years.

The other winner, attorney Clark Snure is semi-retired. He specialized in representing fire departments and protection districts in Washington.

Practicing law for 45 years, Snure has been appeared in every level of court in Washington, including the state Supreme Court.

For 40 years he served as the secretary to the Board of Commissioners of King County Fire Protection District No. 26, something that would come to shape and define his legal career.
Snure has published several handbooks on the laws and regulations governing fire districts and departments. He also gives lectures on the laws governing fire districts at seminars put on by the Washington Fire Commissioners Association.

Snure drafted the rewrite of Title 52 RCW in the Washington Fire Commissioners Association Committee that studied the title and recommended the rewrite provisions.

His son Brian Snure has taken over the Snure Law Office, located in Des Moines.

Clark Snure is the current president of the Des Moines Legacy Foundation, and is a past president of the Des Moines Rotary and the Des Moines Chamber of Commerce.

A third winner will be honored at the next city council meeting on Dec. 2.