The Sacramento Walk of Stars organization announced the first group of people to receive stars on the city's new walk of fame.
The 2016 honorees will be Grammy and Emmy award-winning actor, director and educator LeVar Burton, three-time olympic gold medalist Debbie Meyer, breast cancer surgeon Dr. Ernie Bodai and landscape artist Gregory Kondos.
LeVar Burton grew up in Sacramento, attended Christian Brother's High School and is best known for his work on "Reading Rainbow" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
“Everybody comes from somewhere and I have always been proud of my Sacramento roots,” Burton said in a statement. “From Glen Elder to Broderick to South Sac; from Holy Angels to St. Charles Borromeo to St. Ann’s Elementary, Sacramento has imprinted itself on me in a most indelible way.”
Swimming champion Debbie Meyer attended Rio Americano High School and is the only woman to win three individual freestyle swimming Olympic gold medals in one olympics.
Dr. Bodai is the former chief of surgery for Kaiser in Sacramento and was influential in getting the breast cancer stamp into production. Gregory Kondos is an acclaimed landscape artist.
The stars will cost around $8,000 each and will be paid for by private parties. The stars will be installed in sidewalks across Sacramento and honor people with strong ties to the city with national accomplishments. Scot and Lucy Crocker from public relations firm Crock and Crocker spearheaded the project which the council approved last summer.
-Capital Public Radio Staff
And last but not certainly not least... @levarburton is a #SacStar2016 pic.twitter.com/7yNYegyasp
— Sac Walk of Stars (@SacWalkofStars) May 9, 2016
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