The hall of fame glass case, located at the entrance of the library, showcases and promotes the distinguished members of the 2013 hall of fame and honors their contributions to the college.
The glass case has pictures of all the members, in addition to a plaque that will display future members of the hall of fame.
The 2013 hall of fame had the likes of Marcelo Balboa being induced for Distinguished Male Athlete and Dr. Gary Smuts being inducted for Distinguished Alumnus.
The hall of fame is currently in its third year, and it inducts members every year.
Cheryl Thury, administrative assistant in the Cerritos College president’s office, said, “The hall of fame was founded to honor, pay tribute and recognize individuals through individual support, interests and outstanding contributions to the college. It was (Cerritos College president) Dr. (Linda) Lacy’s idea to bring it to the college. It was one of her goals.”
Executive director of the Cerritos College Foundation Steve Richardson said, “The Cerritos College Foundation is proud to host the hall of fame to honor distinguished faculty, athletics and the community.”
The nomination forms will be finalized Nov. 14, then the new members will be announced in December and the induction ceremony will take place in March 2014.
“There has been a long standing need to recognize outstanding service to the college,” Richardson said. “The hall of fame really serves that purpose well because it recognizes a special member of the faculty or an outstanding coach.”
Thury added, “Lots of colleges have hall of fames, so I think it’s just an honor to be recognized as a person who made a significant contribution to the college.”
The categories range from Distinguished Classified Employee to Distinguished Coach, and each section has its own distinct criteria.
Lacy said, “We have a steering committee in representation of each of the categories. Each one of those categories has a subcommittee, and they seek nominations. There’s a nomination form, so the subcommittees will accept the nomination forms, look at (them), they’ll do the voting and make recommendations to the steering committee.
“We have basically accepted their nominations each time, but that’s how it’s done. So the steering committee has ultimate approval, but really it’s the subcommittees that do all the work and make their recommendations.”
According to the Cerritos College website, the ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, Mar. 14, 2014. The inductees who will be announced in December, as aforementioned, will officially be honored at the ceremony at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Norwalk.
Richardson said, “It’s been very well received, and the fact that it covers a variety of areas of excellence on campus, makes the Cerritos College Foundation very supportive.”
