An "Evening with the Stars"
An "Evening with the Stars" was held in November, hosted by and benefiting California State University, Dominguez Hills. The black tie affair featured several well-known Olympic medallists and other world-class athletes. More than 150 guests were treated to a magnificent and elegant night of entertainment, dining, special auction items and dancing at the "Evening With The Stars."
While stars shined
in the clear night skies, inside the open-air Gold Room at Hollywood Park,
the room was filled with Olympic Stars and other American athletes who appreciated
their special CSUDH recognition and mingled with guests throughout the evening.
Pictured
to the right are (L-R) Brian Bridgewater, sprinter, 100-200 meter,
American Team; Travis Hannah, former track & field star at USC, former
Houston Oiler and current star of the Arena Football League, LA Avengers;
event chair Barbara Ferrell-Edmonson; Quincy Watts, winner of the 1992
gold medal in track & field in the 400 meters (Barcelona); and Greg Saddler,
100-200 sprinter, American Team. Ferrell-Edmonson, one of the worlds top women
sprinters in the late 1960s, appeared in the 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games.
An Olympic Gold and Silver Medallist in 1968, she was part of six world records
between 1967 and 1968 and was named to the National Track & Field Hall of
Fame.
City of Carson officials attending the soiree included City Council member Daryl Sweeney; former mayor and current CSUDH Presidential Advisory Board member, Gil Smith and his wife Shirley Smith, and Assistant City Manager George Penn.
The University was well represented, including Alumni Association President Kathleen Alvarez, university vice presidents Boice Bowman, Student Affairs; Alphonce J. Brown, Jr., University Advancement; and Don Castro, Academic Affairs plus deans Don Bates, School of Management; Sandra Parham, University Library; Abel Arrivizu Whittemore, School of Health; and Selase Williams, College of Art & Sciences.
The event offered an opportunity to introduce CSUDH to new prospective supporters and extend the geographic boundaries of university hosted activities.
Olympic
stars attending "Evening of the Stars" included Pat McCormick
(pictured to the right), winner of both the 3-meter springboard and 10-meter
platform diving events at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki and again in
1956 in Melbourne (a few months after giving birth to her son!). McCormick,
a CSU Long Beach alumna, won 26 US diving titles and with her 1984 Olympic
medal-winning daughter, Kelly, is the only mother-daughter team to win Olympic
medals. Also attending (and not pictured) were Reynaldo Brown, high
jumper from the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games; sprinter John Carlos,
a gold and bronze medallist in 1968, who along with 100 meter track gold medallist
Tommy Smith are best known for their silent, fist-raised protest to
support the black civil rights movement; and Wyomia Tyus, holder of
three Olympic gold medals in track and field and the first woman athlete to
win back-to-back gold medals - in 1964 Tokyo and 1968 Mexico City (in world-record
time).
Proceeds of the event will support The Presidential Inauguration scheduled for March 22, 2001.
Photos by Kenneth Lichtenberg
