On Jan. 19, we celebrate the legacy of the man who had a dream.

On Friday, King County Executive Ron Sims encouraged all Lake Grove Elementary students to dream big and hold on to that dream.

This Martin Luther King Day was especially poignant, Sims said, with the first African American elected as president of the United States being sworn in the next day.

“Never let anyone take away your dream,” Sims said. “Work really hard and never forget to believe in yourselves.”

Sims, who was the keynote speaker at the school’s “Let it Shine” assembly, brought forth students from the crowd to tell the student body what they wanted to be when they grew up.

He then turned it into a competition for which side of the gym could cheer the loudest for their fellow student’s dream job.

The prize? A return trip by Sims in the spring with all the pizza and ice cream the kids could eat.

The competition was fierce and very very loud as students announced their career hopes: A cop, a doctor, a veterinarian, a lawyer, a motivational speaker, cheerleader and a scientist.

Eventually, it came down to the tiebreaker, and Sims asked Principal Kristi White what she had wanted to be when she was a girl. Her answer? President of the United States.

And the tiebreaker? It stayed a tie. So if all the students behave well this year, Sims promised to come back in the spring with all the pizza and ice cream the kids could eat.

And the crowd went wild.

Celebrate MLK’s legacy

The City of Federal Way and Federal Way Diversity Commission invite residents and visitors to participate in Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations Jan. 17-19.

A city-wide food drive to benefit the Multi-Service Center’s food bank will run 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 17 at Fred Meyer, Top Food and Drug, Metropolitan Market and Albertson’s.

A community celebration will begin 10 a.m. Jan. 19 at Decatur High School, 2800 S.W. 320th St.

To volunteer or learn more, contact Kimberly Paterno at (253) 835-2654 or kimberly.paterno@cityoffederalway.com.