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OC ARMENIAN COMMUNITY DECLARES 'UNITY IS OUR STRENGTH'
Wednesday, February 27th, 2013
A scene from the community gathering
The ARF "Armen Karo" Gomideh invited all of the executive boards of
all of the Armenian community organizations and institutions in Orange
County, the majority of which attended and only a few were unable
to be present due to scheduling conflicts. Over 50 representatives
participated in this historic gathering.
Reverend Nareg Pehlivanian opened the meeting with a traditional
Armenian prayer after which ARF "Armen Karo" Chairman, Garo R.
Madenlian, welcomed the participants to their second home and explained
that there are no "odars" here, only fellow Armenians and friends,
all from the same community and working for the same cause, each
within its own mission statement but all leading to the same end.
He went on to explain the importance of coordinating efforts and openly
communicating with one another to strengthen the community, work for
"Hai Tahd," and encourage the youth to get involved, especially in
light of the aggressive propaganda campaign being implemented by the
Azeris in the U.S. and in OC.
Each attendee introduced themselves and the organization they
represent. The meeting then discussed a framework to better communicate
via emails and coordinate events and activities to better support
each other, including the creation of a master calendar for the
community. All agreed to commemorate the Armenian Genocide together
as one community, the task of organizing the event will be entrusted
to the ANCA Orange County chapter again this year, with everyone's
participation. There were numerous suggestions, including one to start
a committee to plan events in Orange County to commemorate the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in 2015.
Presentation were made during the event
Nora Injeyan, a member of ANCA OC and AYF "Ashod Yergat" chapter,
introduced a power point presentation identifying the various
Azerbaijani and Turkish organizations actively working in the U.S. and
in Orange County. She highlighted the recent Azerbaijani efforts to
commemorate Khojaly as a massacre of Azeri civilians by Armenians, the
increased lobbying efforts by both Azeri and Turkish organizations
and their respective networks, and the Gulen movement's charter
school agenda to shape American public opinion. She also informed
the attendees about the Azeri Student Association at UCI and their
upcoming lecture on campus about Khojaly. There were many questions
and answers after the presentation, during which the ARF Chairman
informed the organizations that they are monitoring the situation
and are formulating a plan of action. He went on to emphasize the
importance of presenting a unified front on such national issues,
to which all were in agreement.
ANCA OC and AYF "Ashod Yergat" member, Shant Meguerditchian
introduced the ANCA professional internship program and asked for
everyone's participation and support to locate and secure Armenian
professionals that would host interns. He went on to explain how
each business or professional hosting an intern will also designate
an Armenian organization for the intern to volunteer with, thus
creating a connection to the community in addition to gaining
valuable professional experience. Dick Hamparsumian explained that
the Orange County Armenian Professional Society had also been working
on establishing such a program. The two will discuss joining forces
in the near future to work together on this important endeavor.
The final agenda item was about the difficulties in encouraging
Armenian youth to remain actively involved in the community and work on
national issues. The discussion revolved around identifying solutions
to keeping the youth connected and engaged. Some of the suggestions
included that in addition to the AYF, Homenetmen should be a vehicle
to keep people connected to the community via athletics and scouts,
especially if they are beyond the AYF age range. The ARF Chairman
explained that the new Homenetmen Sartarabad executive is full of
younger and energetic members, such as new chairwoman Naro Sabunjian,
who are actively working on this issue and expressed his confidence in
them. AYF "Ashod Yergat" chairwoman, Hrache Novruzyan, explained that
AYF had previously tried to hold a youth summit but was unsuccessful
due to scheduling difficulties. She went on to state that in the near
future the AYF will be inviting all the Armenian youth organizations in
Orange County to a similar meeting to discuss these issues, organize
the youth, and collectively implement a plan of action. She asked for
everyone to support the AYF Youth Summit by encouraging participation.
Many attendees commended the ARF for taking such an important first
step to further unify the Orange County Armenian community, to organize
and coordinate efforts, to provide information and a forum to share
ideas, and to encourage everyone to work together. All wanted this
positive atmosphere to continue to develop and requested similar
meetings in the future.
Prior to adjourning the meeting, the representatives unanimously
adopted "Unity is Our Strength" as the motto for 2013 and each vowed
to be guided by this principle during the year. After the meeting
many continued to discuss activities, events, and various partnership
opportunities over coffee and pastries.
Participating organizations: AGBU, ANCA OC, AGM Armenian School
Board and Principle, Armenian Center Management Board, ARF Armen
Karo Gomideh, AYF Ashod Yergat, AYF Advisor, AYF Juniors Advisor,
ARS Karni, ARS Sevan, Hamazkayin Siamanto, Homenetmen Sartarabad,
Fortry Martyrs Church Board, OC Armenian Professional Society.
- See more at:
http://asbarez.com/108522/oc-armenian-community-declares-%e2%80%98unity-is-our-strength%e2%80%99/#sthash.RMO33eXA.dpuf
Wednesday, February 27th, 2013
A scene from the community gathering
The ARF "Armen Karo" Gomideh invited all of the executive boards of
all of the Armenian community organizations and institutions in Orange
County, the majority of which attended and only a few were unable
to be present due to scheduling conflicts. Over 50 representatives
participated in this historic gathering.
Reverend Nareg Pehlivanian opened the meeting with a traditional
Armenian prayer after which ARF "Armen Karo" Chairman, Garo R.
Madenlian, welcomed the participants to their second home and explained
that there are no "odars" here, only fellow Armenians and friends,
all from the same community and working for the same cause, each
within its own mission statement but all leading to the same end.
He went on to explain the importance of coordinating efforts and openly
communicating with one another to strengthen the community, work for
"Hai Tahd," and encourage the youth to get involved, especially in
light of the aggressive propaganda campaign being implemented by the
Azeris in the U.S. and in OC.
Each attendee introduced themselves and the organization they
represent. The meeting then discussed a framework to better communicate
via emails and coordinate events and activities to better support
each other, including the creation of a master calendar for the
community. All agreed to commemorate the Armenian Genocide together
as one community, the task of organizing the event will be entrusted
to the ANCA Orange County chapter again this year, with everyone's
participation. There were numerous suggestions, including one to start
a committee to plan events in Orange County to commemorate the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in 2015.
Presentation were made during the event
Nora Injeyan, a member of ANCA OC and AYF "Ashod Yergat" chapter,
introduced a power point presentation identifying the various
Azerbaijani and Turkish organizations actively working in the U.S. and
in Orange County. She highlighted the recent Azerbaijani efforts to
commemorate Khojaly as a massacre of Azeri civilians by Armenians, the
increased lobbying efforts by both Azeri and Turkish organizations
and their respective networks, and the Gulen movement's charter
school agenda to shape American public opinion. She also informed
the attendees about the Azeri Student Association at UCI and their
upcoming lecture on campus about Khojaly. There were many questions
and answers after the presentation, during which the ARF Chairman
informed the organizations that they are monitoring the situation
and are formulating a plan of action. He went on to emphasize the
importance of presenting a unified front on such national issues,
to which all were in agreement.
ANCA OC and AYF "Ashod Yergat" member, Shant Meguerditchian
introduced the ANCA professional internship program and asked for
everyone's participation and support to locate and secure Armenian
professionals that would host interns. He went on to explain how
each business or professional hosting an intern will also designate
an Armenian organization for the intern to volunteer with, thus
creating a connection to the community in addition to gaining
valuable professional experience. Dick Hamparsumian explained that
the Orange County Armenian Professional Society had also been working
on establishing such a program. The two will discuss joining forces
in the near future to work together on this important endeavor.
The final agenda item was about the difficulties in encouraging
Armenian youth to remain actively involved in the community and work on
national issues. The discussion revolved around identifying solutions
to keeping the youth connected and engaged. Some of the suggestions
included that in addition to the AYF, Homenetmen should be a vehicle
to keep people connected to the community via athletics and scouts,
especially if they are beyond the AYF age range. The ARF Chairman
explained that the new Homenetmen Sartarabad executive is full of
younger and energetic members, such as new chairwoman Naro Sabunjian,
who are actively working on this issue and expressed his confidence in
them. AYF "Ashod Yergat" chairwoman, Hrache Novruzyan, explained that
AYF had previously tried to hold a youth summit but was unsuccessful
due to scheduling difficulties. She went on to state that in the near
future the AYF will be inviting all the Armenian youth organizations in
Orange County to a similar meeting to discuss these issues, organize
the youth, and collectively implement a plan of action. She asked for
everyone to support the AYF Youth Summit by encouraging participation.
Many attendees commended the ARF for taking such an important first
step to further unify the Orange County Armenian community, to organize
and coordinate efforts, to provide information and a forum to share
ideas, and to encourage everyone to work together. All wanted this
positive atmosphere to continue to develop and requested similar
meetings in the future.
Prior to adjourning the meeting, the representatives unanimously
adopted "Unity is Our Strength" as the motto for 2013 and each vowed
to be guided by this principle during the year. After the meeting
many continued to discuss activities, events, and various partnership
opportunities over coffee and pastries.
Participating organizations: AGBU, ANCA OC, AGM Armenian School
Board and Principle, Armenian Center Management Board, ARF Armen
Karo Gomideh, AYF Ashod Yergat, AYF Advisor, AYF Juniors Advisor,
ARS Karni, ARS Sevan, Hamazkayin Siamanto, Homenetmen Sartarabad,
Fortry Martyrs Church Board, OC Armenian Professional Society.
- See more at:
http://asbarez.com/108522/oc-armenian-community-declares-%e2%80%98unity-is-our-strength%e2%80%99/#sthash.RMO33eXA.dpuf