UWEC Athletics Hall of Fame
Steve Cerrato, a defenseman, was UWEC’s first hockey All-American, earning NAIA First Team honors in both 1981 and 1982, just a few short years after hockey became a Blugold varsity sport in 1977-78. Cerrato played one year for Fred Kolb and three seasons for Wally Akervik. After arriving in Eau Claire from Albert Lea, Minnesota, Cerrato played in 110 games during his career, missing just six games his senior season because of a dislocated shoulder. He accounted for 50 points on four goals and 46 assists from his blue line position. He scored three of his four career goals as a senior when he was named team MVP, All-WSUC, NAIA All-District 14 and NAIA All-American. A senior captain, Cerrato led the Blugolds to their first post-season competitions in 1981 and 1982. The Blugolds beat River Falls for the NAIA District 14 championship in 1981 and participated in the 1982 NAIA Final Four along with Augsburg College, Bemidji State and UW-Superior.
Since his graduation from UWEC in 1982, Cerrato has been employed by ARA Services (1982-86), Unilever (1986-05), Burt’s Bees (2005-11) and Seventh Generation (at the time of his induction since 2011). During his time with Unilever, he was promoted several times from a sales rep in Minneapolis to a Sales Director in Milwaukee, then into Sales Planning in New York City and then to Team Lead back in Minneapolis. He received the company’s President’s Award for outstanding performance as he helped set a new standard of excellence for the company and industry. With Burt’s Bees, he was awarded the outstanding Team leader while he was managing the Target Corp. account. He was also instrumental in the sale of Burt’s Bees to the Clorox Company in 2008. In his time with Seventh Generation, a Burlington, Vermont-based company that is a producer and distributor of environmentally safe household products, Cerrato was named Outstanding Sales Director in both 2012 and 2013. At the time of his induction, he was the Mass Channel Director. Cerrato has remained involved in hockey, serving as a youth hockey head coach for the Eastview Youth Association from 1998-2011. He chaired the player development for the association from 2002-05. He became vice president of the Blue Line Club at Apple Valley’s Eastview High School in 2011.
