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Kessab Educational Association of L.A. Names Hagop Manjikian Man of the Year
Wednesday, January 28th, 2015
http://asbarez.com/131255/kessab-educational-association-of-l-a-names-hagop-manjikian-man-of-the-year/
Hagop Manjikian
RESEDA, Calif.--The Kessab Educational Association of Los Angeles named
Hagop Manjikian "Man of the Year" for 2015 at the organization's
annual Armenian Christmas banquet on Jan. 11.
Born less than a decade after the Armenian Genocide, Manjikian grew up
with the stories of the Turkish deportations and massacres of his
people, and they left an indelible mark on his existence. So much so
that he dedicated his life to making sure that the memory of the 1.5
million Armenians who perished during the Genocide would never be
forgotten.
Manjikian was born to Garabed and Victoria Manjikian in 1924. His
youth in Kessab was very simple - they had no electricity, he read by
candlelight and he had a long walk to school down dirt roads. He
attended Kessab's Ousoumnasirats School, then French technical school
in Lattakia, which opened his eyes to the world. In December 1950, he
left his cherished parents, brother, Vahan, and his beloved Kessab and
set sail for America, arriving in New York just before Christmas and
setting foot in California on New Year's Day 1951.
While Manjikian worked as a precision parts subcontractor by day,
every moment of his spare time was spent helping put together an
organizational infrastructure for the growing Armenian community in
Southern California. He threw himself into community work, writing
letters to governmental representatives on behalf of the Armenian
organizations of which he was a member, including the American
Committee for the Independence of Armenia and the A.R.F. In 1955,
California Governor Goodwin Knight and his wife accepted Manjikian's
invitation to attend the New Year's Eve Celebration at the Armenian
Center on Venice Boulevard.
Manjikian spearheaded committees to build the Soghomon Tehlirian
Monument in Fresno and the Armenian Monument in Montebello's Bicknell
Park. He was one of the founders of the Kessab Educational Association
of Los Angeles in 1957. He was founding chairman of the Armenian
National Committee, Western Region in 1969, and founding board member
of the Hamazkayin Cultural Association and Homenetmen Athletic Union
in California. Manjikian founded the Armenian National Radio Hour in
1978, and for one-and-a-half years he and his wife, Knar, recorded the
weekly show. The Manjikians have ardently supported the Asbarez
Armenian newspaper by writing articles over the past 50 years.
Toward the close of the 20th century, Manjikian embarked on a massive
project. In 1992 he and his wife produced the massive and epic
Houshamatyan Commemorative Album-Atlas of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation, 1890-1914. The companion volume was published in 2001, and
in 2006 the English-language version of volume 1 was printed.
After that project, Manjikian began another: to bring the tragic
eyewitness accounts of the Armenian Genocide to the fore of the
English-speaking world by translating them. He and Knar started the
Genocide Library Book Series and have published six memoirs in
English.
Manjikian has received several honors for his life's work in addition
to the KEA's Man of the Year:
* Catholicos Aram I endowed Manjikian with the Mesrob Mashdotz Medal
in 2001 for his dedication to serving his people.
* The U.S. House of Representatives paid tribute on June 7, 2005 to
the Manjikians for publishing Passage Through Hell by Armen Anush.
* On May 21, 2014, Congressman Adam Schiff honored the Manjikians for
publishing 5 Armenian Genocide memoirs.
* On April 23, 2014, the Los Angeles City Council recognized Manjikian
for his dedicated service to the Armenian-American community, most
notably his endeavors to bring awareness and recognition of the
Armenian Genocide.
While numerous projects have occupied him over the decades,
Manjikian's loyalty and service to his beloved Kessab have never
ceased. At the behest of the Ousoumnasirats organization in Kessab, he
headed a North American fund-raising campaign to build a high school
in Kessab so that the youth would not go to school elsewhere in the
Middle East. The committee raised $121,000 in 2008 - 9. He also is
working on a book about the Ousoumnasirats School, which has produced
one Catholicos, Karekin I, and numerous recognized educators, doctors
and Armenian community leaders.
Manjikian, who is 90, spoke for 15 minutes about the importance of the
homeland, and concluded his remarks by reciting the last stanzas of
Hovannes Toumanian's "Tmpkapertee Aroomeh" (The Capture of Fort
Temuk).
Very Reverend Karekin Bedourian, a native son, presided over the
evening program, which concluded with the singing of what has become
the Kessab anthem: "Giligia" (Cilicia), based on a song by Gomidas).
The KEA of L.A. also acknowledged the following for their generous
financial contributions to the Kessab Relief Fund:
Sevag Saghdejian and Nayeri Saghdejian Kassarjian of Specialty Car
Craft Motor Group
Dr. Haig and Mrs. Hilda Manjikian and the Land and Culture Organization
Dr. George Apelian
Shogher Baghdoud Tilkian
Michael Bederian for his donation to the KEA Center Lounge.
Wednesday, January 28th, 2015
http://asbarez.com/131255/kessab-educational-association-of-l-a-names-hagop-manjikian-man-of-the-year/
Hagop Manjikian
RESEDA, Calif.--The Kessab Educational Association of Los Angeles named
Hagop Manjikian "Man of the Year" for 2015 at the organization's
annual Armenian Christmas banquet on Jan. 11.
Born less than a decade after the Armenian Genocide, Manjikian grew up
with the stories of the Turkish deportations and massacres of his
people, and they left an indelible mark on his existence. So much so
that he dedicated his life to making sure that the memory of the 1.5
million Armenians who perished during the Genocide would never be
forgotten.
Manjikian was born to Garabed and Victoria Manjikian in 1924. His
youth in Kessab was very simple - they had no electricity, he read by
candlelight and he had a long walk to school down dirt roads. He
attended Kessab's Ousoumnasirats School, then French technical school
in Lattakia, which opened his eyes to the world. In December 1950, he
left his cherished parents, brother, Vahan, and his beloved Kessab and
set sail for America, arriving in New York just before Christmas and
setting foot in California on New Year's Day 1951.
While Manjikian worked as a precision parts subcontractor by day,
every moment of his spare time was spent helping put together an
organizational infrastructure for the growing Armenian community in
Southern California. He threw himself into community work, writing
letters to governmental representatives on behalf of the Armenian
organizations of which he was a member, including the American
Committee for the Independence of Armenia and the A.R.F. In 1955,
California Governor Goodwin Knight and his wife accepted Manjikian's
invitation to attend the New Year's Eve Celebration at the Armenian
Center on Venice Boulevard.
Manjikian spearheaded committees to build the Soghomon Tehlirian
Monument in Fresno and the Armenian Monument in Montebello's Bicknell
Park. He was one of the founders of the Kessab Educational Association
of Los Angeles in 1957. He was founding chairman of the Armenian
National Committee, Western Region in 1969, and founding board member
of the Hamazkayin Cultural Association and Homenetmen Athletic Union
in California. Manjikian founded the Armenian National Radio Hour in
1978, and for one-and-a-half years he and his wife, Knar, recorded the
weekly show. The Manjikians have ardently supported the Asbarez
Armenian newspaper by writing articles over the past 50 years.
Toward the close of the 20th century, Manjikian embarked on a massive
project. In 1992 he and his wife produced the massive and epic
Houshamatyan Commemorative Album-Atlas of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation, 1890-1914. The companion volume was published in 2001, and
in 2006 the English-language version of volume 1 was printed.
After that project, Manjikian began another: to bring the tragic
eyewitness accounts of the Armenian Genocide to the fore of the
English-speaking world by translating them. He and Knar started the
Genocide Library Book Series and have published six memoirs in
English.
Manjikian has received several honors for his life's work in addition
to the KEA's Man of the Year:
* Catholicos Aram I endowed Manjikian with the Mesrob Mashdotz Medal
in 2001 for his dedication to serving his people.
* The U.S. House of Representatives paid tribute on June 7, 2005 to
the Manjikians for publishing Passage Through Hell by Armen Anush.
* On May 21, 2014, Congressman Adam Schiff honored the Manjikians for
publishing 5 Armenian Genocide memoirs.
* On April 23, 2014, the Los Angeles City Council recognized Manjikian
for his dedicated service to the Armenian-American community, most
notably his endeavors to bring awareness and recognition of the
Armenian Genocide.
While numerous projects have occupied him over the decades,
Manjikian's loyalty and service to his beloved Kessab have never
ceased. At the behest of the Ousoumnasirats organization in Kessab, he
headed a North American fund-raising campaign to build a high school
in Kessab so that the youth would not go to school elsewhere in the
Middle East. The committee raised $121,000 in 2008 - 9. He also is
working on a book about the Ousoumnasirats School, which has produced
one Catholicos, Karekin I, and numerous recognized educators, doctors
and Armenian community leaders.
Manjikian, who is 90, spoke for 15 minutes about the importance of the
homeland, and concluded his remarks by reciting the last stanzas of
Hovannes Toumanian's "Tmpkapertee Aroomeh" (The Capture of Fort
Temuk).
Very Reverend Karekin Bedourian, a native son, presided over the
evening program, which concluded with the singing of what has become
the Kessab anthem: "Giligia" (Cilicia), based on a song by Gomidas).
The KEA of L.A. also acknowledged the following for their generous
financial contributions to the Kessab Relief Fund:
Sevag Saghdejian and Nayeri Saghdejian Kassarjian of Specialty Car
Craft Motor Group
Dr. Haig and Mrs. Hilda Manjikian and the Land and Culture Organization
Dr. George Apelian
Shogher Baghdoud Tilkian
Michael Bederian for his donation to the KEA Center Lounge.