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AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x118
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.agbu.org
PRESS RELEASE
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
AGBU's Chicago Chapter Celebrates Its Centennial
Serving Chicago's Armenian community with dedication and devotion for
over a century, the AGBU Chicago Chapter held its Centennial Celebration
on Saturday, December 10, 2011, at the Onnig Norehad Center, the
Chapter's headquarters. A special private reception welcomed members and
lead donors prior to the festive program, which was attended by 200
people.
Armand Norehad, whose father, Onnig, is the namesake of the Chicago
Center, opened the evening. "My connection to AGBU through my family
goes back to 1920 when my dad joined AGBU after a year here as a
refugee. It's remarkable that this organization was conceived long
before the Genocide, but then what did we live through? World War I, the
Depression, World War II. And this chapter continued to grow through
more refugees. They were the gift given to Chicago, people who came from
Turkey, Syria, and all sorts of countries where they'd been abused and
decimated as families. This evening represents 100 years of successes,
and I hope and pray that we will be able to continue the success, and
feel we have carried the torch forward from all of those people over the
decades," said Norehad.
The Chapter's former chairman Haig Pedian also gave heartfelt remarks,
followed by AGBU Central Board member Carol Aslanian, who talked about
the current relevance and role of AGBU both in the United States and
abroad. Aslanian went on to discuss the organization's recent successes
and accomplishments, and stressed the importance of staying connected to
one another as a community. "I am so very pleased to represent the
Central Board of AGBU as we celebrate the Chicago AGBU Chapter's
Centennial. The Chapter's 100 years of service and dedication to the
Armenian community in greater Chicago have been exceptional. The Chapter
has sponsored countless cultural, humanitarian, and educational projects
and programs over the years, and has been instrumental in sharing its
ideas with other chapters throughout the world. For that, we are greatly
indebted to the thousands of volunteers who have come to honor their
heritage and culture," said Aslanian. She continued, "We all need to
remain connected and share what we as individuals and as members of
groups can offer so as to tie our communities together and to inspire
ourselves as well as the communities of which we are contributing
members."
The Zulal Trio of New York, an a cappella group of three women who
perform traditional Armenian folk music, took the stage next for a
nearly two-hour concert. Introducing the singers, AGBU Chicago Board
member and program director of the Kooyumjian-AGBU Chicago Armenian
Humanities Festival Gary Rejebian said, "It would be selling tonight's
concert far short to regard this performance as merely faded postcards
of a bygone era. While the melodies hail from another time and place,
the music of Zulal is very much a vibrant example of the mosaic which is
Armenian culture today. Listen carefully and you will recognize that the
emotions and experiences related in their lyrics are both timeless and
universal. Such is the gift of Zulal, and the Armenians, to humankind."
Chicago Chapter chairwoman Sona Boghosian Diorio, who has worked
tirelessly to maintain the Chicago Center and is a passionate advocate
for AGBU's presence in the community, delivered closing remarks. The
Chapter's birthday celebration followed for all in attendance.
As part of the Chicago Chapter's centennial celebration, the
Kooyumjian-AGBU/Chicago Armenian Humanities Festival had a series of
cultural events lined up during fall 2010, which included a lecture
entitled "Resistance and Rescue During the Armenian Genocide: The Story
Behind a Photograph: Marsovan, 1915-1918," a violin and piano concert,
and a presentation entitled "Memories of a Lost Armenian home:
Photography, Anatolia College and the Story of an Armenian Family in
Anatolia." One more event took place on January 14, 2012 -- a production
of the renowned Michael Fosberg play "Incognito."
The Festival debuted in May 2010 with the premiere of Chicago composer
Eric Hachikian's film Voyage to Amasia, which won Best Documentary at
the 2011 Pomegranate Film Festival in Toronto. Festival events have been
made possible by the joint efforts of AGBU's Chicago Chapter and the
generous support of the Kooyumjian Foundation.
AGBU Chicago, established just five years after the founding of AGBU in
Egypt, has played an important role in the philanthropic, educational,
cultural, and social life of the Chicago-Armenian community over the
last 100 years. Generating strong support for various causes through
years of fundraisers, and local subchapters for men, women, and youth,
the AGBU Chicago Chapter has been a core focus of the organization in
the community. The Chapter's Center was established nearly twenty years
ago through funds raised from the Armenian community in and around
Chicago, and is named after the late Onnig Norehad, a former chairman of
AGBU Chicago. The Center takes great pride in the growing number of
activities that are a part its operations, as well as the ongoing
services that it offers.
AGBU has also taken responsibility for running one of the two Armenian
Saturday Schools in Chicago. Private support has helped create an ethnic
identity and heritage program in the dual-dialect weekly school, with
new multimedia curricular components and external partnerships that
connect the students with peers in Armenia and, eventually, to other
Armenian students around the country. Current enrollment is 30 children
and adults.
Established in 1906, AGBU (www.agbu.org) is the world's largest
non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City, AGBU
preserves and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through
educational, cultural and humanitarian programs, annually touching the
lives of some 400,000 Armenians around the world.
For more information about AGBU and its worldwide programs, please visit
www.agbu.org.
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x118
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.agbu.org
PRESS RELEASE
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
AGBU's Chicago Chapter Celebrates Its Centennial
Serving Chicago's Armenian community with dedication and devotion for
over a century, the AGBU Chicago Chapter held its Centennial Celebration
on Saturday, December 10, 2011, at the Onnig Norehad Center, the
Chapter's headquarters. A special private reception welcomed members and
lead donors prior to the festive program, which was attended by 200
people.
Armand Norehad, whose father, Onnig, is the namesake of the Chicago
Center, opened the evening. "My connection to AGBU through my family
goes back to 1920 when my dad joined AGBU after a year here as a
refugee. It's remarkable that this organization was conceived long
before the Genocide, but then what did we live through? World War I, the
Depression, World War II. And this chapter continued to grow through
more refugees. They were the gift given to Chicago, people who came from
Turkey, Syria, and all sorts of countries where they'd been abused and
decimated as families. This evening represents 100 years of successes,
and I hope and pray that we will be able to continue the success, and
feel we have carried the torch forward from all of those people over the
decades," said Norehad.
The Chapter's former chairman Haig Pedian also gave heartfelt remarks,
followed by AGBU Central Board member Carol Aslanian, who talked about
the current relevance and role of AGBU both in the United States and
abroad. Aslanian went on to discuss the organization's recent successes
and accomplishments, and stressed the importance of staying connected to
one another as a community. "I am so very pleased to represent the
Central Board of AGBU as we celebrate the Chicago AGBU Chapter's
Centennial. The Chapter's 100 years of service and dedication to the
Armenian community in greater Chicago have been exceptional. The Chapter
has sponsored countless cultural, humanitarian, and educational projects
and programs over the years, and has been instrumental in sharing its
ideas with other chapters throughout the world. For that, we are greatly
indebted to the thousands of volunteers who have come to honor their
heritage and culture," said Aslanian. She continued, "We all need to
remain connected and share what we as individuals and as members of
groups can offer so as to tie our communities together and to inspire
ourselves as well as the communities of which we are contributing
members."
The Zulal Trio of New York, an a cappella group of three women who
perform traditional Armenian folk music, took the stage next for a
nearly two-hour concert. Introducing the singers, AGBU Chicago Board
member and program director of the Kooyumjian-AGBU Chicago Armenian
Humanities Festival Gary Rejebian said, "It would be selling tonight's
concert far short to regard this performance as merely faded postcards
of a bygone era. While the melodies hail from another time and place,
the music of Zulal is very much a vibrant example of the mosaic which is
Armenian culture today. Listen carefully and you will recognize that the
emotions and experiences related in their lyrics are both timeless and
universal. Such is the gift of Zulal, and the Armenians, to humankind."
Chicago Chapter chairwoman Sona Boghosian Diorio, who has worked
tirelessly to maintain the Chicago Center and is a passionate advocate
for AGBU's presence in the community, delivered closing remarks. The
Chapter's birthday celebration followed for all in attendance.
As part of the Chicago Chapter's centennial celebration, the
Kooyumjian-AGBU/Chicago Armenian Humanities Festival had a series of
cultural events lined up during fall 2010, which included a lecture
entitled "Resistance and Rescue During the Armenian Genocide: The Story
Behind a Photograph: Marsovan, 1915-1918," a violin and piano concert,
and a presentation entitled "Memories of a Lost Armenian home:
Photography, Anatolia College and the Story of an Armenian Family in
Anatolia." One more event took place on January 14, 2012 -- a production
of the renowned Michael Fosberg play "Incognito."
The Festival debuted in May 2010 with the premiere of Chicago composer
Eric Hachikian's film Voyage to Amasia, which won Best Documentary at
the 2011 Pomegranate Film Festival in Toronto. Festival events have been
made possible by the joint efforts of AGBU's Chicago Chapter and the
generous support of the Kooyumjian Foundation.
AGBU Chicago, established just five years after the founding of AGBU in
Egypt, has played an important role in the philanthropic, educational,
cultural, and social life of the Chicago-Armenian community over the
last 100 years. Generating strong support for various causes through
years of fundraisers, and local subchapters for men, women, and youth,
the AGBU Chicago Chapter has been a core focus of the organization in
the community. The Chapter's Center was established nearly twenty years
ago through funds raised from the Armenian community in and around
Chicago, and is named after the late Onnig Norehad, a former chairman of
AGBU Chicago. The Center takes great pride in the growing number of
activities that are a part its operations, as well as the ongoing
services that it offers.
AGBU has also taken responsibility for running one of the two Armenian
Saturday Schools in Chicago. Private support has helped create an ethnic
identity and heritage program in the dual-dialect weekly school, with
new multimedia curricular components and external partnerships that
connect the students with peers in Armenia and, eventually, to other
Armenian students around the country. Current enrollment is 30 children
and adults.
Established in 1906, AGBU (www.agbu.org) is the world's largest
non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City, AGBU
preserves and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through
educational, cultural and humanitarian programs, annually touching the
lives of some 400,000 Armenians around the world.
For more information about AGBU and its worldwide programs, please visit
www.agbu.org.