Cerritos College News Release

NORWALK, Calif. – October 22, 2009 – Cerritos College hosted a dedication ceremony for its newly completed Aquatic Center on Wednesday, October 21. Board of trustees, administrators, faculty, staff, students and community members marked the occasion with an unveiling of a commemorative plaque and a ribbon-cutting.

The ceremony began with rousing cheers from the Falcon cheerleaders followed by Cerritos College President Dr. Linda Lacy’s welcome.

"I would like to thank our community, for believing in the vision of our educational master plan and for voting “yes” on the bond measure, which allowed us to build this beautiful facility," said Dr. Lacy to the assembled audience.

"As you can see, the facility is extremely attractive but also it is very functional. The facility offers the ability to host summer programs for our community and it expands everything we can do with the fabulous athletic programs that we are proud of.

The new $5 million Aquatic Center was funded by the G.O. bond and consists of a 115-by-75-foot competition pool, a 45-by-75-foot adaptive pool and a 3,400 square feet pool house building. The new competition pool section is one of the best facilities in the state which can host competition activities such as swimming, water polo and diving. The new adaptive pool makes possible an easy access for disabled users.

"We appreciate the community for making possible for this great facility to come into existence," said Cerritos College Board of Trustees Vice President Dr. Bob Hughlett.

Dean of the Health, Physical Education and Athletics Division Dr. Dan Smith thanked his staff, the campus facilities staff, and many people in the college's purchasing and finance areas for their countless hours spent ensuring the successful creation of the building.

"I am extremely happy that this facility is open," said Dr. Smith. “We’ve waited a long time and are very excited to have this beautiful swimming pool.”

Cerritos College women’s swimming and water polo head coach Sergio Macias and men’s swimming and water polo head coach Joe Abing also expressed their excitement to be in the state-of-the-art pool.

Dignitaries in attendance included Mayor Pro Term of Cerritos Dr. Joseph Cho, Cerritos Council members Carol Chen and Jim Edwards, Lakewood Council member Diane Dubois, ABC Unified School District Board Vice President Celia Spitzer, ABC Unified School District Board Clerk Maynard Law, Paramount Unified School District Board Member and Norwalk Chamber Executive Director Vivian Hansen, Norwalk Chamber President Teri Bazen and Jesse Cheng, Congressional Aide for Congresswoman Linda Sánchez.

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Cerritos College serves as a comprehensive community college for southeastern Los Angeles County. Communities within the college’s district include Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, La Mirada, Norwalk, and portions of Bell Gardens, Lakewood, Long Beach, Santa Fe Springs and South Gate. Cerritos College offers degrees and certificates in more than 180 areas of study in nine divisions. Annually, more than 1,200 students successfully complete their course of studies, and enrollment currently averages nearly 23,000 students. Visit Cerritos College online at http://www.cerritos.edu/.

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Cerritos College

Releases 2009