Over the course of the last eight years, I have had the pleasure of unveiling the winners of the Best of Federal Way that you, as the readers, have chosen.

At the annual community event last Wednesday, we gave away plaques, had a number of gift basket prizes and announced the first winner of the Citizen of the Year and the first stories of the year.

Over the course of the year, the editorial team has kept a list of stories that are the most touching and interesting that they have written in their careers. These stories were then condensed down to a winner. This is a new addition to the Best of Federal Way and we will continue to do this moving forward. It’s only appropriate that we recognize, along with the businesses, the community members that make Federal Way a great place to live.

It was a tough choice to pick a Citizen of the Year recipient. All of the monthly winners are incredibly worthy of this honor, but Derek Warner was the clear winner. Anyone who volunteers to fix his mom’s and her friend’s appliances, pipes and dryers earns a special place in the heart of the Mirror’s staff , especially when you consider that the overwhelming majority of the voting staff are women and moms themselves.

A special thanks goes out to the finalists: Diana Noble-Gulliford, Lou Olmstead, Bob Darrigan, Karl Grosch, Brenda Oliver, Jerry Korum, Dana Buck, Peggy LaPorte, Jon McIntosh, Leah Boehm-Brady, Bob Wroblewski, Byron Hiller and Jeanne Burbidge.

It is with great pride I present to you the winning votes for our 17th Best of Federal Way winners.

I welcome your continued help in years to come to make this a continued success.

Here are this year’s winners:

SERVICE

Adult In-Home Care

FIRST PLACE | COMFORT KEEPERS

2nd Village Green Retirement

3rd Brookdale Foundation House

Attorney

FIRST PLACE | HERMAN C BREWER IV

2nd [tie] Frank Cornelius and Edward Nelson

Auto Body / Collision

FIRST PLACE | BOB BJORNEBY’S CARSTAR FEDERAL WAY COLLISION

2nd Blackstone’s Collision

3rd Complete Collision

Auto Repair Shop

FIRST PLACE | SPARKS CAR CARE

2nd Bob Bjorneby’s CARSTAR Federal Way Collision

3rd Eagle Tire and Automotive

Bank / Credit Union

1ST PLACE [Tie] | BECU and HERITAGE BANK

3rd Sound Credit Union

Barber Shop

FIRST PLACE | GENT’S FINE GROOMING FOR MEN

2nd Twin Lakes Hair Salon

3rd Sport Clips

Barista / Location

FIRST PLACE | KASIE CHARLES / BIGFOOT JAVA

2nd Mary Margaret Johannsen / Poverty Bay Coffee Company

3rd Jamie Carlisle / Starbucks Fred Meyer

Bartender / Location

FIRST PLACE | JASON BOSSHART / RJAY’S SCOREBOARD BAR

2nd Lacey Johnson / R-Jay’s Scoreboard Bar

3rd Janette Braun / Buffalo Wild Wings

Chiropractor

FIRST PLACE | WOLF CHIROPRACTIC CENTER

2nd Twin Lakes Chiropractic

3rd Life & Health Chiropractic &

Massage Centre

Clinic / Hospital

FIRST PLACE | ST FRANCIS HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL CENTER

2nd Virginia Mason

3rd Pediatrics Northwest

Day Care

FIRST PLACE | ST. LUKE’S CHILDCARE

2nd Kinder Care Learning Centers

3rd La Petite Academy

Day Spa

FIRST PLACE | TWIN LAKES HAIR SALON

2nd 8th Day Spa

3rd MeMe & Company

Dentist

FIRST PLACE | DR. KENNETH BROSSEL, DDS

2nd Donald Ausink, DDS

3rd Dr. Stacy R. Kanda, DDS

Financial Advisor

FIRST PLACE | MATTHEW JARVIS

2nd Dan Altmayer

3rd Chad Stalder

Fitness Facility / Location

FIRST PLACE | FEDERAL WAY COMMUNITY CENTER

2nd LA Fitness

3rd Crossfit Federal Way

Hair Salon

FIRST PLACE | TWIN LAKES HAIR SALON

2nd Salon St. John

3rd 8th Day Spa

Healthcare Professionals

FIRST PLACE | JADE RIVER ACUPUNCTURE

2nd St. Francis Hospital

3rd Virginia Mason

Insurance Agent / Company

FIRST PLACE | CARRIE KUHEL / STATE FARM

2nd Jack Stanford

3rd Jeff Burnett / Allstate

Nail Salon

FIRST PLACE | TWIN LAKES HAIR SALON

2nd 8th Day Spa

3rd MeMe & Company

Pet Groomer

FIRST PLACE | BISCUITS FEDERAL WAY

2nd [tie] Petsmart and Simply Paws

Photographer / Videographer

FIRST PLACE | BRUCE HONDA

2nd [tie] Ed Streit Images and MB Photography

Real Estate Agent / Company

FIRST PLACE | DEBI BRAULIK / KELLER WILLIAMS

2nd Jackie King / Better Properties

3rd Tamera Camp / John L. Scott

Senior Living Facility

FIRST PLACE | VILLAGE GREEN RETIREMENT

2nd Brookdale Foundation House

3rd SHAG

Tutor

FIRST PLACE | SYLVAN LEARNING OF FEDERAL WAY

2nd Kumon Learning Centers

3rd Treehouse

Veterinarian

FIRST PLACE | CASCADE VETERINARY HOSPITAL

2nd Sacajawea Healthcare for Pets

3rd Vets For Less

Waiter / Location

FIRST PLACE | TRISTAN GAMBLE / BILLY MCHALE’S

2nd Bill Richardson / Red Robin

3rd Dustin Vistante / Puerto Vallarta

Waitress / Location

FIRST PLACE | JADE CONWAY / RJAY’S SCOREBOARD PUB

2nd Janae Bosshart / R-Jay’s Scoreboard Pub

3rd Jen Maden / Red Robin

SHOPPING

Auto Parts

FIRST PLACE | G&M HONEST PERFORMANCE

2nd O’Reilly’s Auto Parts

3rd Auto Zone Federal Way

Beer / Wine / Spirits Store

FIRST PLACE | TOTAL WINE & MORE

2nd 99 Bottles

3rd Trader Joe’s

Clothing Store

FIRST PLACE | MACY’S

2nd Target

3rd Kohl’s

Discount Store

FIRST PLACE | COSTCO WHOLESALE

2nd Target

3rd Goodwill

Hardware / Lumber Store

FIRST PLACE | NEW LUMBER & HARDWARE CO.

2nd Home Depot

3rd Ace Hardware, Dash Point

Jewelry Store

FIRST PLACE | JEFFREY’S JEWELERS

2nd Federal Way Custom Jewelers

3rd Fred Meyer Jewelers

Nursery & Garden Store

FIRST PLACE | BRANCHES GARDEN CENTER

2nd Lowe’s

3rd Oriental Garden Center

Pet Store

FIRST PLACE | MUD BAY

2nd Petco

3rd Simply Paws

Second Hand Store

FIRST PLACE | GOODWILL

2nd Deseret Industries

3rd Heaven Sent Children’s Resale

Tire Store

FIRST PLACE | LES SCHWAB

2nd Discount Tire

3rd Eagle Tire and Automotive

FOOD

Asian

FIRST PLACE | TOKYO JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE

2nd Indochina Seafood and Satay Bar

3rd Basil Thai

Bakery

FIRST PLACE | H-MART

2nd Panera Bread

3rd Black Bear Diner

Barbeque

FIRST PLACE | JIMMY MAC’S ROADHOUSE

2nd Billy McHale’s

3rd Buffalo Wild Wings

Brunch / Breakfast

FIRST PLACE | BLACK BEAR DINER

2nd Salty’s at Redondo

3rd Poverty Bay Coffee Company

Buffet

FIRST PLACE | EAST INDIA GRILL

2nd Salty’s at Redondo

3rd Mika Japanese Buffet

Coffee / Latté

FIRST PLACE | POVERTY BAY COFFEE COMPANY

2nd Marista’s Coffee Shop

3rd Starbucks / Dash Point

Deli

FIRST PLACE | JIMMY JOHN’S

2nd Deli Smith

3rd Subway

Family Restaurant

FIRST PLACE | BLACK BEAR DINER

2nd Red Robin

3rd Olive Garden

Hamburger

FIRST PLACE | RED ROBIN

2nd Burger Express

3rd Stacks

Ice Cream

FIRST PLACE | SUBZERO

2nd Baskin & Robbins

3rd Cold Stone Creamery

Indian

FIRST PLACE | EAST INDIA GRILL

2nd Indochina Seafood and Satay Bar

3rd Can Am Pizza

Italian

FIRST PLACE | VINCE’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT

2nd Verazanno’s

3rd Olive Garden

Lunch

FIRST PLACE | PANERA BREAD

2nd Costa Vida

3rd Deli Smith

Mexican

FIRST PLACE | AZTECA

2nd Puerto Vallarta

3rd Costa Vida

Pizza

FIRST PLACE | THE ROCK

2nd Round Table

3rd Pizza Pizazz

Seafood

FIRST PLACE | SALTY’S AT REDONDO

2nd McGrath’s Fish House

3rd Red Lobster

Steakhouse

FIRST PLACE | BLACK ANGUS STEAKHOUSE

2nd Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse

3rd Jimmy Mac’s Roadhouse

LIVING

Best Cop

FIRST PLACE | ANDY HWANG

2nd Mike Chi

3rd John Stray

Best Firefighter

FIRST PLACE | AL CHURCH

2nd Gordon Olson

3rd Ryan Herrera

City Leader

FIRST PLACE | SUSAN HONDA

2nd Jim Ferrell

3rd Dini Duclos

Community Volunteer

FIRST PLACE | CINDY DUCICH

2nd Janice Siebenaler

3rd Ed Barney

Educational Facility

FIRST PLACE | FEDERAL WAY COMMUNITY CENTER

2nd Sylvan Learning of Federal Way

3rd Highline College

Kid’s Activity

FIRST PLACE | WILD WAVES THEME PARK

2nd Federal Way Community Center

3rd Pattison’s West

Local Charity / Non-Profit

FIRST PLACE | MULTI-SERVICE CENTER

2nd World Vision

3rd FUSION

Teacher / Elementary

FIRST PLACE | CINDY DENNISON / MEREDITH HILL

2nd Carla Beausoleil / Brigadoon

3rd Heather Day / Nautilus K-8

Teacher / Middle School

FIRST PLACE [TIE] YVETTE GREGG / ILLAHEE and CHRISTOPHER LEZCANO / ILLAHEE

3rd Kelsey Alig / Saghalie

Teacher / High School

FIRST PLACE | CHRISTIAN POWERS / FEDERAL WAY

2nd [Tie] Andy Cameron / Federal Way and Brett Lucas / Todd Beamer

Tourist Attraction

FIRST PLACE | WILD WAVES THEME PARK

2nd Farmer’s Market

3rd Redondo (Pier/boardwalk)

NIGHTLIFE

Bar / Night Club

FIRST PLACE | RJAY’S SCOREBOARD BAR

2nd Billy McHale’s

3rd Muckleshoot Casino

Casino

FIRST PLACE | MUCKLESHOOT CASINO

2nd Iron Horse

3rd Emerald Queen

Local Arts Group

FIRST PLACE | CENTERSTAGE THEATRE

2nd Federal Way Symphony

3rd Rosebud Children’s Theatre Conservatory

Movie Theatre

FIRST PLACE | CENTURY 16 MOVIE THEATRE

2nd Gateway Movies 8

3rd AMC Kent Station

Citizen of the Year

DEREK WARNER

Story of the Year

SILVER LAKE ELEMENTARY PTA; SILVER LAKE ELEMENTARY: “COMMUNITY RALLIES FOR GIRL WITH LEUKEMIA”

Story of the Year

BOB AND LINDA BJORNEBY: “COUPLE FUELS WISH FOR YOUNG MAN WITH CANCER”

Story of the Year

DOM COOKS: “DECATUR SUFFERS LOSS OF COOKS, WHO INSPIRED THOUSANDS”