Lakewood Officers Remembered

The recent loss of 4 Lakewood police officers has reminded us how suddenly we can lose people who are most important in our lives. Our own recent experiences with loss have triggered a particularly emotional response as we watched the news develop last week informing the world of a terrible ambush that took place in our own back yard against local law enforcement officers as they prepared for duty.

Our loss occurred last year when Airport Towing CEO Mark Storer and son Brian Storer died in an airplane crash, shocking the towing industry. Local friends and family members gathered to show their support. Neighboring police and fire agencies joined in to provide assistance to those who were suffering the most, along with other towing companies. The family at Airport Towing voiced their appreciation of the support received from public safety officers and others offering assistance.

Now it is our turn to pay back the support given to our family last year by assisting other families who have suffered a similar fate. Officers Ronald Owens, Tina Griswold, Greg Richards, and Sgt. Mark Renninger have all left behind children and families, both at home and within the police department. The families have endured terrible suffering as a result of the unexpected void that took them by surprise on a Sunday morning. We have felt a similar pain, and we know there are few, if any, words that will bring comfort to the loved one’s who are grieving.

Airport Towing and local police officers work together on a daily basis. The officers and towers provide a public service, working together at emergency scenes and during non-emergency traffic situations. Our company got it’s first bitter taste of tragedy when King County Sheriff’s Deputy Steve Cox was shot and killed in the line of duty in December of 2006. Officer Cox worked with our Burien Towing drivers on a daily basis during his work week. When he was gunned down on a late winter night. Those who knew him and worked with him were heartbroken. It often seems as though the greatest hero’s of our community are those who suffer the most tragic fate. Two years after Deputy Cox died, Airport Towing lost Mark and Brian. Now, the attention has shifted South, to the families of the fallen Lakewood Officers.

A memorial service was held Tuesday at the Tacoma Dome for all four Lakewood police officers. Prior to the service, a procession of nearly 2,000 emergency vehicles led the ceremony from McChord Air Force Base near where the officers were killed in Parkland, past Lakewood Police Department Headquarters, to the memorial site. More than 20,000 people attended the service, including thousands of police officers and firefighters. The emotion filled service lasted more than 3 hours and featured many stories of the lives of the four slain officers. Family members were surrounded by thousands of attendees, including police officers, firefighters, dignitaries, and others. Governor Christine Gregoire was on hand to speak to the crowd, as was House Representative and former King County Sheriff Dave Reichert. More than 700 Canadians mounted police officers attended, as well as hundreds from Chicago, New York, Boston and other places around the world. The scene was awe-inspiring, with an honor guard of multiple agencies leading the way. For the families, the service was just the beginning of a long road ahead.

Several memorial funds have been set up to support the family of the fallen Lakewood officers. You can donate directly through the Lakewood Police Independent Guild here.

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.

Hot Rod Season Has Arrived

We are finally starting to see some sunlight in Seattle, which means it’s time to get our hot rod’s outside and around town for some much needed fresh air and warm pavement. After a long and stormy winter we were finally able to open the warehouse door this month and roll out two of our most noticeable classic tow trucks. This pair of trucks that we sent to participate in the weekly car show at Bernie & Boys Market earned plenty of attention from onlookers and collectors alike thanks to their unique body design and custom graphics. Our 1933 Ford truck is a unique orange truck on a lowered chassis with chrome accents and powered by a 383 Stroker. The other truck we displayed is our purple 1935 Ford tow truck with custom hand painted flames, a Holmes wrecker unit, and a 305 small block V8 motor.

Classy Chassis Car Club of Burien is hosting the event every Saturday night from April until October. The car show is open from 4pm – 8pm to all car lovers/spectators and for those of you lucky enough to own our own classic car, custom hot rod, or any other type of show car we would like you to bring it by and be part of the display. There is no entry fee for cars or spectators; just an open parking lot where you won’t get towed for parking your pride and joy for a few hours. The event was formerly held at the Burien Fred Meyer parking lot on Wednesday night, but has now found a home just a few miles north (still on 1st Ave) in Top Hat.

Local grocers Joe and Tom Salle are the owners of Bernie & Boys Market (Home of the Live Butcher) and have always been heavily involved in local community events. They have invited Evergreen High School’s Booster Club to the event who will be on hand to provide food and drinks each night at a reasonable price as they work to raise money for their sports program.

Airport Towing will make an appearance with one or more of our classic trucks as much as possible this summer. Our founder Mark Storer created one of the largest and most unique classic tow truck collections in the world and in his memory we are planning on getting the tow trucks outside this summer for everyone to enjoy. Come join us for great food, music, and beautiful custom cars at the Classy Chassis Car Club of Burien Saturday Night Cruise-Ins. For information on the weekly show stop by Saturdays or call Bob at 206-935-2113 or Joe at 206-248-1916.

Classy Chassis will also be hosting their annual Snow-N-Shine at Bernie & Boys Market Saturday, July 25th. This is an all day event that costs only $15 to enter. All proceeds go to Child Haven of Burien. Call Bob at 206-935-2113 or Arthea at 206-762-3159 for more information.

Giving to the Needy in a Bad Economy

Now is a great time to help those in need and Vision Collision (Burien’s newest auto body repair shop) stepped up to the challenge in a big last week. It’s no surprise that there are people are hurting all across the nation. Food banks are in high demand, some charities are short on funds, and many good people are in need of support now more than ever, including cancer patients.

In 2005 cancer accounted for more than half a million deaths in the United States alone. In fact, we all have at least a 40% chance of getting some form of cancer at any point in our lives, and there is more than 20% chance any one of us will die from cancer. That’s the harsh reality that affected Amy Driscoll (formerly Hughes) and her family when she lost her grandmother to ovarian cancer nine years ago. Now the family has committed to helping others who are fighting the same battle by participating in Relay For Life.

Despite a struggling global economy the family at Vision Collision teamed up with 3.5 million people from around the nation to raise funds and awareness for the American Cancer Societyby participating in the relay. Mike & Amy Driscoll took an extra step by opening up their new Burien business on a Saturday to wash cars & sell refreshments as a fundraiser. Their efforts earned more than $500 to be donated to charity and their hopeful that they can increase their donation total at future events.

To show our support Airport Towing sent an antique tow truck over for a bath before participating in a local car show at Bernie & Boys Market in Top Hat. The 1933 Ford hot rod earned some extra attention and was undoubtedly the most unique truck that attended the wash. Vision Collision is planning on hosting another non-profit car wash Saturday May 16th and we plan to attend with another classic tow truck from our collection. We encourage anyone who would like to support their efforts as well as anyone who appreciates a quality hand wash to stop by. Click here for directions to Vision Collision where the next car wash is going to be held from 10am to 3pm on May 16th.

National Publication Features Airport Towing

This months edition of Towing & Recovery Footnotes carried an article featuring the story of our company and the challenges we have faced as a family business. The focal point of the article “Good Men Down” is the sudden loss of our founder and his son last summer resulting from a plane crash. Mark Storer founded Airport Towing 21 years ago with one tow truck out of his house. He worked hard every day to create good customer relations and to create a good work environment for his employees. Brian Storer was one of those employees for most of his life. His playful attitude kept the atmosphere at the office fun and enjoyable. Both men were an integral part of our business and lives and it has been a tremendous challenge to try and fill their shoes. Fortunately our employees have stepped up to the task as the Footnotes Article so accurately described.

The tragic and unexpected loss of Mark & Brian sent a rift throughout the industry. Hundreds of professional tow truck operators knew them personally, as well as many local businesses who felt the pain, and several other friends and family members. Mark and Brian were very well connected throughout the industry and the community, which resulted in a Memorial Service of an estimated 800 people in attendance with less than 1 week of notice, several television news broadcasts, and many other articles written about the pair in the B-Town Blog and other publications.

One of Mark’s legacies will always be his Antique Tow Truck Collection. The fleet of classic trucks started as a simple hobby, but quickly grew into a passion. With just a small peek into Mark’s warehouse, it was evident that he had a certain obsession with the towing industry and it’s history. Mark has won a prize in just about every competition that he entered one of his trucks into. With seven fully restored, show quality trucks, he became quite busy with projects that were secondary to his full time job  and he never slowed down. After building up his antique collection, Mark turned to airplanes. He shared that passion with his family and grandsons whom he loved dearly. He would take his wife flying or out for a drive in one of the antique trucks on a sunny day. If the weather was poor, he was most likely working due to the increased work load in the towing industry. There was never a dull moment with Mark or his youngest son. We are glad that Footnotes found our story and offered to share it with their thousands of readers around the industry. It is our hope that the legacy of Mark and Brian continues to live on for many years so that the world can share in the joy that we experienced when they were here.

Tow Truck For Sale

Burien Towing is now selling a 2001 Ford F-450 XLT Superduty Tow Truck. This truck has been serving the Seattle area since it was purchased new by Burien Towing and is still fully functional. In our continuing effort to keep a new fleet of tow trucks on the road, this truck is being rotated out to make way for the brand new tow truck that we purchased this year.

With a 7.3L V8 Turbo Diesel, this truck has 141,000 miles, a 6 speed manual transmission, a Microlock Braking System, RPM Commander Controls, a limited slip rear end, 34 gallon fuel tank, power windows, locks, & mirrors, antilock brakes, a 4.88 axle ratio, rear upper & lower work lights, cruise control, AM/FM, cd, quick connect jump start cables, stainless wheel simulators, diamond plate railing, 360 emergency scene lighting, and more.

It’s tow capabilities include a Century 410 wrecker body with wheel lift and boom, dual 8,000 lbs. winches, tow sling, dollies, and a gross vehicle weight rating of 15,000 lbs. The wheel lift is rated at 4,000 pounds.

Our tow trucks are well maintained and all maintenance records are kept on file. This 1 ton tow truck will remain in our working fleet until it is sold. It is fully functional and ready to operate.

List price for the truck is $20,000.  Visit our office if you would like to see the truck in person or call 206-243-6252 and ask for Jared or Daryl for more information. Click here for directions to our office.

To read more about this truck and see more photos, go to our For Sale page. To contact us via the web, go to our Contact Page.