Burien’s 4th of July Parade is Hot

Downtown Burien was alive with national pride and patriotism early this month as the 2009 Burien Independence Day Parade started with a “bang”. The literal “bang” was probably just the Seafair Pirates firing another shot across the bow from their pirate ship, The Moby Duck, followed by a small plume of residual smoke. The audience was full of excitement fueled by hundreds of parade participants marching, dancing, singing, playing instruments, honking, waving, shouting, and passing out candy.

Just ahead of the ruthless pirates was the crew from Airport Towing strategically positioned at the center of the parade ready to respond to any emergency car trouble encountered along the way. Fortunately for the participants, no such cars were noticed this year (as opposed to previous years). The Airport Towing crew did, however, enjoy driving around their hometown at magnificently slow parade speeds of less than 5 miles per hour while taking their time to admire the new Burien Town Square from the crowded city streets.

Spectators and participants alike enjoyed the benefits of warm 70 degree sunshine in the morning hours leading up to the parade. As the event commenced and continued into the afternoon, temperatures of as high as 87 were recorded causing the route to be dreadfully hot for the volunteers and advertisers who were out in the elements, such as the die-hard staff at The B-Town Blog. To kick off B-Town’s parade debut, they picked one of their favorite and most experienced advertisers to chauffeur them down the parade route while keeping the public informed through live blogging from their laptops using free local wi-fi. Fortunately for Airport Towing employees, modern trucks are equipped with air conditioning which helps keep drivers comfortable and conscious while operating heavy equipment.

Despite the Pacific Northwest heat wave that reached it’s peak the afternoon of the parade, B-Town Bloggers had a terrific attitude and loads of enthusiasm. After all, their audience was out in full force. Thousands of people lined the streets of downtown to admire the annual demonstration. The Burien parade has been an opportunity for people to celebrate all the great things that we enjoy in the United States of America for 88 years! This year the Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce deserves recognition for coordinating perhaps the most successful parades in the city’s history.

Airport Towing was a proud participant, displaying the national colors on all trucks that drove in the parade. A firm believer in the freedoms of our nation, Airport Towing is a true success story of a family that was able to grow their business through hard work and dedication thanks to the freedoms provided the USA. Now as the trucks roll through the streets of Burien, where Airport Towing began, and wave their flags, the local company is saying thank you to the community that gave them the chance to succeed. Here’s to another 21 years in business and another 233 years of freedom!

Burien + Classic Cars = A Fathers Day Hit

Millions of dollars worth of antique cars & trucks lined the streets of Burien last week for the annual Fathers Day Car Show, turning the the city’s downtown into a spectacular parking lot for car lovers of all ages. With a turnout of more than 200 vehicles crowding the city streets, participants proudly unveiled the fruits of their hard labor as onlookers came from all over the Puget Sound area to appreciate their pristinely shined mechanical beauties.

It was chrome and aluminum as far as the eye could see down 152nd street in the shadow of the new Burien Town Square, which includes a new 7 story condominium building, a 20,000 square foot City Hall and an 18 million dollar public library. The long line of displayed classics continued on down 6th Avenue Southwest and also along 4th Ave SW. Some car show guru’s who were unwilling to pay the entry fee participated in the show but were excluded from the competition by parking their project cars in legal street parking spaces around the perimeter of the exhibition. The official portion of the car show was hosted by The Discover Burien Association.

For Airport Towing the event was a tribute to it’s founding father, Mark Storer who birthed the company 21 years ago and remained heavily involved as the CEO until he died 1 year ago. Mark was a committed father of 3 children but also took on a fatheresque role to several towing industry professionals whom he trained throughout his tenure as the company’s owner. Today Airport Towing remains a family owned and operated business and the people employed are adopted as additional members of the extended family.

Mark was responsible for collecting 13 unique trucks that comprise the Storer Tow Truck Collection. Three of the trucks were on display for the annual Fathers Day car show:

• “The Dodge” is a 1937 Dodge Brothers 1 1/2 ton truck with a Holmes tow unit attached.
• “The 29″ is a 1929 Ford Model AA tow truck with a Weaver crane and is said to be the most beautiful and valuable truck in the collection.
• “The T” is a 1925 Ford Model TT flatbed that was turned into a tow truck by Mark as his first antique vehicle project.

All the trucks in the Storer Tow Truck Collection have some historical significance in Airport Towing’s history and are the product of Mark’s passion for unique & beautiful treasures. The three tow trucks drew a steady crowd throughout the day as they were decorated with photos of Mark and his youngest son Brian who died with him in last years airplane crash. Showing the trucks was one of Mark’s earliest and most reliable employees, Rocky Willis, the tow truck driver / mechanic who was responsible for a vast majority of the restoration work to the antique trucks. Rocky began his career with Airport Towing in 1989 and continues to volunteer to drive the tow trucks in local car shows and parades. Next week Rocky will be driving the Model T in the Burien 4th of July Parade. The parade route begins at the Airport Towing / Burien Towing office and continues through downtown Burien.