At an early age, David Bruton showed a compassion for children and exhibited the smarts that would serve him well later in life, according to his sister, Ebbie Monroe.

Monroe told a story Thursday night during the annual Cornerstone Award banquet of the time on Christmas Day when Bruton - the evening's honoree - "conned" her and her friends into taking care of a sick doll.

"He made what seemed to be a wise observation," Monroe recalled. "David quietly offered, in the most kindly way, 'Your baby is sick. It keeps crying for Mama,' and we girls looked at each other and we thought, 'He's right,' because we were at the age where it was hard to tell what's real and what isn't.

"He said, 'I think I can make it feel better. Let me take a look.'"

Her brother, three years her elder, then cradled the doll in his arms and said, "Yes, I can hear it, but you are going to have to help me," Monroe said.

Bruton placed the doll on a makeshift operating table, according to Monroe, and then allowed the girls to hold the flashlight.

"And after a few minutes of surgery, he said, 'Here's the trouble,'" Monroe said. "It was my doll's crier. He stuck it in his pocket and ran down the steps and out the front door."

Bruton, a longtime pediatrician who has devoted his life to helping children and needy families, received the United Way's Cornerstone Award during a roast/toast at Little River Resort.

Bruton, 76, is the eighth recipient of the organization's highest honor, which recognizes "an individual who has demonstrated extraordinary commitment, creativity, leadership, volunteerism, inspiration and sustained service with broad scope of impact on the quality of life in a community."

Past winners include Dr. John Dempsey, president of Sandhills Community College; women's golf legend Peggy Kirk Bell; Felton Capel, well-known business and civic leader; FirstHealth CEO Charles Frock; David Woronoff, publisher of The Pilot; the Rev. Dr. Hal Hyde, a retired minister and civic leader; and Ernest "Ernie" Hanford

In addition to Monroe, Bruton's toasters included his three grandchildren and his friends Mark Wethington and Gerald Galloway. Galloway was pinch-hitting for Dr. Bill Stewart, who was ill and couldn't attend.

Current Southern Pines Councilman Mike Fields emceed the event.

The toasters took light-hearted jabs at Bruton, many remembering times when they had been "Brutonized," the term for being unwittingly used by Bruton to accomplish one of his goals.

His grandson Luke recalled a time when Bruton roused him from bed one Saturday morning and made him tag along to a meeting. Riding home from the meeting, Luke said he realized that he had been used and confronted his grandfather.

He said Bruton responded with, "Yeah, but I got what I wanted."

Nearly a half-century ago, Bruton founded Sandhills Pediatrics. Since then, he has been an active community leader who has contributed countless hours to help build a stronger community.

Most notably, he founded the Moore Free Care Clinic with Wethington in 2004, which grew from one employee to becoming an indispensable art of the county's medical community.

He also worked tirelessly to help integrate the Moore County school system and has been a longtime supporter of Pinecrest High School. He is a former chairman of the State Board of Education and served as state secretary of health and human services.

In addition to kidding Bruton, the toasters also praised him for his compassion, diplomacy and ability to get others to believe in things that they otherwise might not think could be done.

"In the Sandhills community, time after time - a list that has gone through this evening, but yet not complete - he envisioned projects that brought healthy change to Moore County," Wethington said. "One of those is the Moore Free Care Clinic."

Bruton endured all the jabs and gently fired back at his roasters, including his sister, Monroe.

"She still hasn't paid for that magnificent operation," he said with a smile, as attendees roared with laughter. "I saved that baby doll from a lifetime of suffering and crying, and I don't know why she didn't appreciate it."

Contact Tom Embrey at tembrey@thepilot.com.