MINNEAPOLIS (6/6/01) -- Augsburg College will dedicate its fitness center and entry plaza at Si Melby Hall in honor of three alumni during ceremonies on Saturday (6/9).

The fitness center will be renamed in honor of 1939 Augsburg graduate Hoyt Messerer, and the entry plaza will be named in honor of Gertrude and Richard Pautz, both Augsburg graduates.

A luncheon will be held on Saturday at 12 noon at the college's Christensen Center, with a dedication to follow at 1:15 p.m. in Si Melby Hall. Ice cream cones will be served at 1:30 p.m. in the Pautz Plaza. For more information on the dedication, call 612-330-1468.

Messerer, who was inducted into Augsburg's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1975, was a member of the college's football, basketball and baseball teams. While a student at Augsburg in 1937, Messerer and two classmates founded a student-run athletic support group that later evolved into the Alumni A-Club, now one of the largest athletic alumni organizations in Minnesota. Messerer earned Distinguished Alumni honors from the college in 1973.

Messerer died on May 4, 2001 at the age of 83 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where he had spent most of his life. He was president of the First National Bank of Cedar Falls (now Norwest/Wells Fargo) until his retirement in 1979. He was also founder, and president for two years, of the Midway Bank (now Union Planters Bank) in Cedar Falls.

Both Hoyt and his wife, Lucille Messerer, have been active supporters of Augsburg College, endowing scholarships for musicians and physical-education students. In addition to his support of his alma mater, Hoyt was also a supporter of the University of Northern Iowa's Athletic Club, which he helped originate in 1963. He was also instrumental in UNI's building of the UNI-Dome a quarter-century ago. He was also a past president of the Cedar Falls Chamber of Commerce, a founder of the Industrial Development Association (now Cedar Falls Industrial Park) and was a charter and founding member of the Cedar Falls Country Club. He was also a well-known football and basketball official in northern Iowa.

Dick Pautz, a 1937 graduate of Augsburg College, played football at Augsburg, and later served the school as athletic director, intramural director and public relations director. He was also a member of the school's board of regents, serving two terms totaling 11 years.

Pautz was inducted into the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame in 1974. He was also awarded the school's Distinguished Alumni Citation. Pautz also served as a lieutenant in the United States Navy in World War II.

He spent 15 years as president of Pautz-Franklin Realty Co., retiring in 1975.

Gertrude (Erling) Pautz was a 1936 graduate of Augsburg, and was active in support of both her alma mater, as a member of the Augsburg Associates (formerly the Augsburg Women's Club) and Bethany Lutheran Church in south Minneapolis. She was a teller at the First Bank Lake location. She died on July 20, 2000.

The dedication of the Si Melby Hall facilities caps a year of celebrating the renovation of athletic facilities at Augsburg. The Hoyt Messerer Fitness Center was doubled in size during the 1999-2000 school year, making it one of the largest among schools in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The fitness center serves both the college's 400-plus student-athletes, as well as the general Augsburg community. The fitness center features free weights, weight-training equipment and fitness/aerobic-training equipment.

The Gertrude and Richard Pautz Plaza at Si Melby Hall features benches and new landscaping on the west-side exterior of the building. Combined with new windows and renovated stairways on both sides of the building, the exterior has been completely redone.

The improvements to Augsburg athletic facilities in 2000 were among the most ambitious in school history. A new competition floor was installed in Si Melby Hall, and named in honor of longtime coach and athletic director Ernie Anderson in February. New bleachers and Daktronics scoreboards were installed in both Si Melby Hall and the Augsburg Ice Arena, and new boards were installed in the Ice Arena main rink. Athletic department and Health and Physical Education department offices were also renovated in Si Melby Hall.

The Si Melby Hall lobby was gutted and enlarged by removing an inside doorway, in order to create a more open area. New energy-efficient doors and windows were installed on the exterior, which also helps to brighten the plaza area. An energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system was installed throughout the building.

The outdoor athletic field, known as Anderson-Nelson Field, will be rededicated in honor of longtime coach Edor Nelson during a ceremony on Sept. 22.