More than 1,200 visit space center for free

DOWNEY - More than 1,200 people enjoyed a free day at the Columbia Memorial Space Center on Sept. 10.Admission was free thanks to a sponsorship by Financial Partners Credit Union in Downey. The event featured games, food, a space shuttle bounce house, robotics station, gravity scale station, rocket launcher and flight simulator. The event also included presentations by space center executive director Scott Pomrehn, Mayor Pro Tem Roger Brossmer and credit union president and CEO Nader Moghaddam. Financial Partners Credit Union was established by the aerospace industry to provide loans and credit accounts to aerospace employees, and for many years had offices at Rockwell International - the company that built the space shuttles where the space center is today. Last month's event was the first collaborative effort between Financial Partners and the space center. "More than 74 years ago employees from American Aviation, headquartered on the grounds, had a dream to start a financial cooperative to pool savings and provide loans at substantially lower rates," Moghaddam said. "Who would have known that 74 years later the dream would still be alive? Today we celebrate the contributions of these extraordinarily talented and special people by reflecting on their place at the leading edge of science."

********** Published: September 29, 2011 - Volume 10 - Issue 24