[0:03] Good evening, everybody. Good evening, series residents and members of our community. I'd like

[0:10] to call to order the Thursday, May 28, 2026, 6 o'clock p.m. City Council Special Meeting.

[0:19] Instructions for remote public participation are listed on the agenda for this meeting.

[0:24] This is our inaugural celebrating Cerritos quarterly program designed to recognize outstanding contributions within the Cerritos community.

[0:38] Madam City Clerk, will you please conduct the roll call?

[0:41] Council Member Hong.

[0:43] Present.

[0:44] Council Member Sey is noted absent for the record.

[0:47] Council Member Yokoyama is also noted absent for the record.

[0:51] Mayor Pro Tempalito.

[0:52] Present.

[0:53] Present.

[0:53] And Mayor Johnson.

[0:55] Present.

[0:55] And the roll call is complete with three members present.

[0:58] Great.

[1:00] At this time on the agenda, item number three, I will open for public comments.

[1:07] Item three, comments should be limited to speech regarding item number four, celebrating serritos.

[1:17] Comments will be limited to one minute per person with a total time not to exceed 15 minutes.

[1:24] Remote persons requesting to speak on item number 4, please use the Zoom raise hand feature now.

[1:34] Or if joining by phone, press star 9.

[1:39] City Clerk, do we have any remote participants requesting to speak?

[1:44] None at this time, Mayor.

[1:46] Okay, great.

[1:50] I will now ask for public comments if there's anyone in the audience.

[1:56] Anybody?

[1:57] None.

[1:58] Okay, great.

[1:59] I'll now close the public comment period.

[2:02] The next item on the agenda is item number four, celebrating Cerritos presentations.

[2:08] Thank you to everyone for attending tonight for our Inaugural Cerritos Celebration, Celebrating Cerritos event.

[2:17] As I previously mentioned, Celebrating Cerritos is a new quarterly recognition event conducted as part of a special meeting of the City Council.

[2:27] One of the greatest privileges of serving as your mayor is the opportunity to recognize the people and organizations who make Cerritos the extraordinary community it is.

[2:41] The City Council takes pride in honoring residents, local businesses, student achievers, community

[2:51] organizations, and dedicated volunteers for their significant accomplishments and contributions

[2:58] made to the Cerritos community.

[3:01] With our celebrating Cerritos event, we provide our deserving honorees a dedicated time

[3:08] for the city to express its appreciation.

[3:12] The event also serves as an opportunity for the city to give thanks for your collective efforts in helping make Cerritos a stronger and more connected community.

[3:26] In a moment, I'll turn the microphone over to our MC, Scott Harvey, the city's communications and marketing manager to facilitate tonight's proceedings.

[3:37] So at this time I ask my council colleagues to please join me on the stage in front of the backdrop to please greet our honorees.

[4:03] Good evening and thank you Mayor Johnson and members of the City Council.

[4:07] Good evening to our guests of honor, their families and our community members.

[4:12] The City of Cerritos is pleased to present tonight's honorees with a certificate of recognition for their outstanding accomplishments.

[4:19] As a token of the city's appreciation, honorees will also receive a ceremonial City of Cerritos

[4:25] 70th anniversary lapel pin.

[4:29] Tonight we will recognize two groups of students from the ABC Unified School District for their

[4:33] participation and commendations received at the 52nd annual National High School Model

[4:38] United Nations Conference, which was recently held in New York.

[4:43] Honorees will be invited forward and greeted by members of the Cerritos City Council.

[4:47] And after you've greeted each council member, please proceed to the other side of the chamber

[4:51] along this back wall and a staff member will guide you into position for our group photo.

[4:56] After being recognized, we invite the honorees to return to their seats until the conclusion

[5:00] of tonight's meeting when you may join friends and family for additional photos in our

[5:05] lobby area.

[5:06] And I now invite the members of Cerritos High School Model United Nations to come

[5:10] forward and be recognized.

[5:19] The annual National High School Model United Nations conference was recently held in New

[5:24] York City.

[5:25] This large-scale educational and academic simulation features students role-playing as diplomats

[5:30] from United Nations member states.

[5:32] For their performance, Cerritos High School Model United Nations was recognized with the

[5:36] award of distinction in debate and the award of excellence in research and preparation.

[5:42] SREDOS High School is among a limited number of schools to receive both awards,

[5:47] positioning SREDOS High School as one of the leading schools in the National

[5:50] High School Model United Nations Conference.

[5:53] Members of the SREDOS High School Model United Nations team include

[5:58] Trenton Bowie, Sophia Del Castillo,

[6:04] Matthew Galvin Navarro,

[6:09] Emily Yang,

[6:12] Siddhi Karthikeya,

[6:16] Harrison Kim,

[6:20] Adita Komu Ruggihi,

[6:26] Alina Lee,

[6:30] Emeline Muvini,

[6:33] Ashon

[6:34] Patil,

[6:37] Ayan Rahman,

[6:40] Christian Schwartz,

[6:43] Ethan Sohn,

[6:47] Silas Supacek,

[6:50] Avery Updike,

[7:01] Alan

[7:01] Yung,

[7:04] Helen Zeng, Arya Bhakta,

[7:11] Hamanshu Buddha Maganta,

[7:18] Manas Gol,

[7:21] Samantha Gomez,

[7:24] Rachel Hawara, Jeremy Young,

[7:30] William Morante Jr., Jaleen Merguia,

[7:37] Nandini Panchal,

[7:41] Zabir Rahman,

[7:44] Seshu Shan Vadella,

[7:48] Timothy Yang,

[7:48] Jenny Lee, Anushka Zumale, and we also want to recognize faculty advisor Jason

[8:00] Wanta-Nabi,

[8:05] and the chaperones Roshni Bhakta,

[8:09] Neha Panchal, and Rota Pima.

[8:17] The City of Cerritos is proud to present Cerritos High School Model United Nations.

[8:28] At this time members of the Cerritos Council will join the students to take

[8:31] a group photo.

[10:18] Congratulations again to Cerritos High School Model United Nations.

[10:25] Now invite our City Council to return to the backdrop display as we honor our next group.

[10:32] And will the members of GAR High School Model United Nations please come forward to be recognized.

[10:38] At the annual National High School Model United Nations Conference, Gar High School earned the prestigious honor of outstanding delegation.

[10:47] The top tier recognition is a reflection of the Gar High School team's collective excellence across multiple categories at the national conference.

[10:55] Gar High School was the sole school from California to be awarded the Outstanding Delegation Recognition.

[11:01] members

[11:05] of the Gar High School Model United Nations team includes Hannah

[11:09] Kirsten Cruz,

[11:15] Sophia Diva,

[11:19] Binyon Saisei,

[11:24] Jason Quack,

[11:28] Sebastian Sendinham,

[11:32] Troy

[11:32] Rogers,

[11:37] Amoa Arun Kumar,

[11:41] Yankee Shenz,

[11:44] Andrea Ferguson,

[11:48] Fallon Robles, Alisa

[11:51] Lisa Sock,

[11:54] Jaila Brown,

[11:57] Maria Alberto,

[12:00] Arush Choudhury,

[12:03] Nicholas Arzate, Mackay Jordan,

[12:10] Brooke Nam, Jaya Sedana,

[12:16] Jacob Gutierrez, Vanessa Vasquez, Damian Tamayo, Arlene Cardenas.

[12:26] And we also want to recognize faculty advisor Patrick Gordon.

[12:34] The City of Cerritos is proud to present Gar High School Model United Nations.

[12:43] And at this time we ask our city council to join our students for a group photo.

[14:32] Congratulations again to Gar High School Model United Nations.

[14:38] And congratulations again to tonight's honorees.

[14:41] I will now invite the City Council back to their seats for closing remarks.

[15:10] Thank you, Scott. On behalf of the Cerrito City Council, we were honored to recognize students

[15:16] and advisors from Cerritos High School and Gar High School from the ABC Unified School

[15:23] District for their performances at the National Model United Nations Conference. Your accomplishments

[15:32] are a point of pride for the community and worthy of a celebration amongst friends, family,

[15:41] and fellow residents as part of our Celebrating Cerritos event.

[15:46] I want to thank everyone for attending tonight's event to show their appreciation to the deserving honorees.

[15:53] Following this special meeting, our honorees are encouraged to gather in the lobby for additional photos

[16:01] with friends and family in front of the City Step and Repeat banner. This

[16:07] concludes agenda item number four. Thank you all for your attendance. We will now

[16:13] adjourn this special meeting. The seven o'clock meeting will be called to order

[16:18] at seven o'clock. Thank you.

Celebrating Cerritos: May 28, 2026

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