Before an overflow crowd of more than 380 in attendance, seven people became the first inductees into the Cerritos College Hall of Fame on Thursday night at the Cerritos Sheraton. Of the seven, three of them were from athletics, as Wally Kincaid (Distinguished Coach), Ron Yary (Distinguished Male Athlete) and Barbara Reinalda (Distinguished Female Athlete) joined Dr. Gerald Roodzant (Distinguished Alumnus), John Gallant (Distinguished Classified/Confidential), Dr. Edward Bloomfield (Distinguished Faculty) and GST, INC (Distinguished Corporate Partner) as members of the inaugural class.

One of her directives after being appointed the college's President/Superintendent, Dr. Linda Lacy wanted to start a Hall of Fame, and summoned the college's Foundation, athletic department and staff to help gather nominations, while the Hall of Fame Steering Committee settled on their choices for the seven categories.

"The college has become distinguished for quality programs and services due to the excellence of the faculty, staff, administration, community and Board of Trustees," said Lacy, who was inducted into the Riverside Community College Athletic Hall of Fame earlier in the year, in her opening remarks. "We are here tonight to honor a few of those who have excelled in their areas and are a part of the rich history of Cerritos College. The people here are a testimony to the impact the honorees have made in the lives of our students."

Barbara Reinalda put the Cerritos College softball team on the map. As a member of the first two Falcon teams in school history, Reinalda was voted the conference Most Valuable Player both seasons, went undefeated in her career as a pitcher and batted over .500 over the course of both seasons. After completing her collegiate career at Cal Poly Pomona, Reinalda spent 19 years as a pitcher for the world-renowned Raybestos Brakettes of Stratford, CT and posted a career record of 441-31 with 19 perfect games. She was a member of Team USA during both the World Championships and Pan American Games and was inducted into the National Softball Hall of Fame in 1999. Additionally, Reinalda is a member of the International Softball Federation Hall of Fame and has spent the last 11 years as the head coach at Yale University.

"I would have to say that I owe my life and career to Cerritos College," said Reinalda. "After playing softball at Valley Christian High, there really weren't many options at that time (1976-77) but a couple of friends and I decided to go pitch at Cerritos and for Nancy Kelly. There was a story about me in the newspaper and a salesman from Raybestos saw the story, contacted me, and I ended up pitching for their softball team, which opened all the doors in my life. To be a forerunner in the sport has been an honor and I still speak very highly of my days playing and going to school at Cerritos College."

Although he only played one season at Cerritos College (1964), Ron Yary went on to have a Hall of Fame career as an offensive lineman with the Minnesota Vikings in the National Football League. In his one season with the Falcons, Yary was a two-way all-conference selection and then played three years at USC, where he won the Outland Trophy as the nation's best offensive lineman and Knute Rockne Award his senior year. He helped the Trojans win the National Championship before becoming the first offensive lineman ever to be drafted #1 overall in the NFL. Over the course of his professional career, Yary was an 8-time Pro Bowl selection, appeared in three Super Bowls with the Vikings and was named the NFC Offensive Lineman of the Year three times. In 2001, he was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.

"I am very honored to be included in this wonderful class of individuals, and am especially excited to see Coach Kincaid," said Yary. "I have been fortunate to have had an opportunity to play a kid's game for many years and along the way, I made a stop at Cerritos College. I met some great friends, was influenced by some great coaches and used the foundation of what I learned at Cerritos to help me on my journey through USC and into the NFL. Playing football has been the easiest part of my life and it's a game I have loved. And if you love what you do, it's not work. Along our path, success is not based on what you have achieved, but how you were guided along the way. The time I spent at Cerritos gave me great guidance and I will always hold Cerritos in high regard."

Wally Kincaid is considered one of the inventors of the way baseball has been played for many years. As the first head baseball coach in Cerritos College history, he spend 22 years at the helm and won six state championships, while posting a career record of 678-163 (.806 winning percentage). Kincaid also led his teams to 15 conference championships, 51 tournament championships and a 60-game winning streak that covered three seasons (1965-67). In 1966, he led the team to a perfect 40-0 record, which is still the only undefeated team in the history of California Community College baseball. He was named the National Community College Coach of the Century by Baseball America Magazine and was inducted into the Community College Coaches Hall of Fame and National College Baseball Hall of Fame. After working at Cerritos College, Wally Kincaid, who had over 100 of his players move on to become coaches at all levels, served as an assistant coach during three College World Series appearances for Cal State Long Beach. In 1992, the Cerritos College baseball field has already been named in his honor.

"First off, I want you to know that I haven't retired," said the 86-year old Kincaid to a room full of applause. "I want to coach until I'm 90 years old. Don't know who will want me to coach with them, but I'd like to coach until I'm 90. This is been a great journey for me and I had the pleasure to coach many, many wonderful young men who grew into great adults. I had a lot of success coaching baseball and Cerritos and we worked hard to achieve that success. I'm very grateful to be honored tonight and accept this with a great deal of pride."