ANCA-ER BANQUET TO HONOR BARONESS COX WITH FREEDOM AWARD
Armenian Weekly
August 30, 2012
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Eastern Region
will be honoring Baroness Caroline Cox with its highest honor, the
prestigious Freedom Award, at the 6th Annual ANCA Eastern Region
Banquet on Sat., Dec. 1, at the Sheraton Crossroads in Mahwah, N.J.
Baroness Caroline Cox “We are proud to be honoring Baroness Caroline
Cox for her decades-long support of the people of Nagorno-Karabagh and
Armenia,” said ANCA Eastern Region Board chairperson George Aghjayan.
The Freedom Award is presented to an individual who has made
outstanding contributions toward the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide and who has pursued other issues of importance to the
Armenian-American community.
Baroness Cox has visited Armenia and Karabagh 75 times-many of
those times during the bitter war with Azerbaijan in the early
1990’s. Cox now works with the Stepanakert-based not-for-profit
organization HART (Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust) to support a
program that provides rehabilitation for people of all ages. HART is
internationally recognized as a “Center of Excellence,” disseminating
its wide-ranging therapeutic repertoire far beyond Karabagh to other
countries throughout the South Caucasus.
“The spirit of Armenia, which not only survives but creates beauty
from the ashes of destruction, is spreading hope and healing for
people with special needs not only in Karabagh and Armenia but far
beyond these lands,” stated Cox.
Baroness Cox of Queensbury was a deputy speaker of the House of
Lords from 1985 to 2005. She was founder chancellor of Bournemouth
University from 1991 to 2001, and is currently chancellor of Liverpool
Hope University and vice-president of the Royal College of Nursing.
She was also a founder trustee of MERLIN (Medical Emergency Relief
International).
She has been honored with the Commander Cross of the Order of Merit
of the Republic of Poland; the Wilberforce Award; the International
Mother Teresa Award from the All India Christian Council; the Mkhitar
Gosh Medal conferred by the president of the Republic of Armenia; and
the anniversary medal presented by Lech Walesa, the former president
of Poland. She has also been awarded an honorary fellowship of the
Royal College of Surgeons of England and honorary doctorates by
universities in the United Kingdom, the United States, the Russian
Federation, and Armenia.
Baroness Cox’s humanitarian aid work has taken her on many missions
to conflict zones, including Karabagh, Sudan, Nigeria, Uganda, Burma,
and Indonesia. She has also been instrumental in helping to change
the former Soviet Union’s policies regarding orphaned and abandoned
children, from institutional to foster family care.
Banquet co-chairs Karine Shnorhokian and Nicole Alashaian, both active
members of the New Jersey Armenian-American community and members of
the ANC of New Jersey, are working diligently to ensure the success of
this annual fundraising event. “This is a fantastic event that truly
showcases the activities and support throughout the Eastern Region. We
are looking forward to a spectacular turnout to honor Baroness Cox for
her many contributions to the people of Nagorno-Karabagh and Armenia,”
Shnorhokian said.
Since 2007, the ANCA Freedom Award has been presented to former U.S.
Ambassador to Armenia John M. Evans, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Dr.
Samantha Power, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, the late U.S. Senator
Edward M. Kennedy, former U.S. Senator Robert Dole, and former U.S.
Senator Elizabeth Dole.
The ANCA Banquet will begin with an elegant cocktail reception and
silent auction at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner and an awards ceremony
at 8 p.m. For more information, visit or call
Karine Shnorhokian at (201) 788-5425.
The ANCA Eastern Region Endowment Fund is a 501(c)(3) charitable and
educational organization that supports the Armenian National Committee
of America Eastern Region in outreach to Armenian-American communities.
In the coming weeks, additional information will be posted at
For more information, please contact Karine
Shnorhokian at (201) 788-5425. Hotel accommodations are available by
calling (201) 529-1660 (mention ANCA for a rate of $99).