Cerritos Mayor Frank Aurelio Yokoyama represented his city at STLV: Trek to Vegas 2025, a Star Trek convention held at the Rio Las Vegas hotel from Aug. 6 to 10.
On the last day of the convention, Yokoyama, who attended with his son Maddox, appeared on stage with actress Dawnn Lewis, who voiced Capt. Carol Freeman of the USS Cerritos in the animated series “Star Trek: Lower Decks,” which premiered in 2020 and recently completed a five-season run.
Describing Lewis as “the greatest of all time” among Star Trek captains, Yokoyama said, “I am thankful and grateful to Ms. Lewis for calling me on stage so that I could present her with the proclamation from the Cerritos City Council as well as a gift bag of Cerritos swag. Maddox and I will always remember this special day with Capt. Carol Freeman/Dawnn Lewis.”
The proclamation reads, in part: “Dawnn Lewis has established Capt. Freeman as a memorable character and skillfully balanced authority with humor, contributing to the show’s unique take on the Star Trek universe …
“Dawnn Lewis and the entire cast of ’Star Trek: Lower Decks’ are commended for their outstanding contributions to the show and for bringing awareness to the City of Cerritos.”
Capt. Freeman was the mother and commanding officer of one of the main characters, Ensign Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), and the two had a difficult relationship. “Lower Decks” was the franchise’s first comedy series.
In the series, which is set in the late 24th century, the USS Cerritos belonged to the California Class of starships. Other ships named after Southern California cities included the Alhambra, Anaheim, Burbank, Carlsbad, Culver City, Inglewood, Pacific Palisades, Riverside, San Clemente, San Diego, Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks, Solvang and West Covina. Other ships were named after Central and Northern California cities.