President Gerald Ford shakes hands with a MVHS band member.

Mission Viejo certainly has a rich history and that’s because there were a number of events that helped shape the City into what it is today.

For example, did you know that The Mission Viejo Homeowners Association was formed in 1967 and that it was the first governmental body in Mission Viejo? It provided a forum for residents to have a political “say” in their community.

How about The Mission Viejo Activities Committee that was established in 1967 to promote the holiday spirit in Mission Viejo? The corner of La Paz Road and Chrisanta Drive became the home to traditional annual Christmas events.

Also, Saddleback College was opened in 1968 and was dedicated by then Gov. Ronald Reagan on Oct. 15, 1968.

Speaking of Presidents, Gerald Ford dedicated the Mission Viejo Community Flag in 1976. And yet another event that shaped the City was the Mission Viejo’s Nadadore swimmers Brian Goodell and Shirley Babashoff who became Mission Viejo’s first Gold Medal Olympians in 1976.

Always a sports town, for many years Mission Viejo was home to the Virginia Slims Tennis Tournament, which featured stars such as Billie Jean King and Chris Evert and in 1984, it was the venue for Olympic Cycling Road Race event. This was the first cycling road race for women in Olympic history. The American men hadn’t won a medal in cycling since 1908 and had never won a Gold Medal. Both the American men (Alexi Grewal – winner) and women (Connie Carpenter – winner) cyclists won Gold that day. The International Cycling Federation called this Olympic race one of the best-run biking events they had ever witnessed. The start/finish line was on O’Neill Road, which was re-named Olympiad after the race. The Olympic Organizing Committee placed a bronze plaque at the start/finish line. In 2004, a commemorative start/finish line was placed near the site of the original line and the Olympic Monument Plaque re-installed on a new monument.