California Hall of Fame inducts 15th class in Sacramento ceremony
SACRAMENTO — It was a big night in Sacramento. A new class of trailblazers heating up a chilly night on the red carpet. Nearly a dozen new inspirational leaders were inducted into the 15th California Hall of Fame Tuesday night at the California Museum.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom inducted this year's class, which includes the following names:
Actor and singer-songwriter Lynda Carter
Chef Roy Choi
Physicist Steven Chu
Ice skater Peggy Fleming
Sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild
Choreographer Alonzo King
Teacher and former astronaut Barbara Morgan
Soccer player Megan Rapinoe
Singer Linda Ronstadt
Artist Ed Ruscha
Band Los Tigres del Norte
"I think it's pretty damn cool I mean look at all these remarkable people from all kinds of diverse backgrounds. It reinforces what makes California special and great," said Gov. Newsom.
"It's very special, it's surreal. I feel like I'm a little bit young but I'm going to take it," said American soccer champion Megan Rapinoe.
Rapinoe carries two World Cup tiles and an Olympic Gold medal. She has roots in Redding, played soccer in Elk Grove and she's not the only hall of famer with ties to Northern California.
Roy Choi, known as one of the founders of the gourmet food truck movement stole stomachs with his Kogi Korean-Mexican taco truck. Choi once worked at Embassy Suites in Sacramento.
"That was a big thing for me at that time. You know life is all about where you are at that moment and every moment is as big as it can be," Choi told CBS13.
He went on to present a cooking series on Netflix with Jon Favreau, but he remembers his time in Sacramento as an important stepping stone. Many of this year's inductees are making history so others have a better future.
"I mean obviously my on field accomplishments but you know my activism off the field whether it's gay rights or racial equality I always want to be able to speak my voice," said Rapinoe.
The state Hall of Fame was first introduced in 2006 by former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and is meant for those "who embody California's innovative spirit and have made their mark on history," according to the museum.
A total of 138 figures have been inducted into the California Hall of Fame. Previous inductees over the years include Ronald Reagan, Steve Jobs, Jane Fonda, George Lucas, Mark Zuckerberg, The Beach Boys, Dolores Huerta, Joan Didion, Bruce Lee, Harrison Ford, Lucille Ball, Thomas Keller, Brandi Chastain, and Jerry Garcia.
The California Museum said the Hall of Fame is its signature event and serves raise funds for the museum's operations and exhibits, inspire museum visitors through a display of artifacts from the inductees, and to educate visitors with the inductees' diverse stories of achievements.