Author: Antonian Lara

GLENDALE—The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region announced Gevik and Peter Baghdassarian as the sponsors of the 2019 ANCA-WR Annual Gala Banquet, in memory of their father, lifelong community leader and benefactor Hacop M. Baghdassarian. This year, the gala banquet will take place on Sunday, October 20 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

“Hacop Baghdassarian was a major pillar not only in our Southern California community, but his visionary leadership transcended Armenia, Artsakh, Javakhk and beyond. Our Board of Directors decided to pay special tribute to his memory in recognition of decades-long service to the advancement of the Armenian Cause,” remarked ANCA-WR Board Member Lina Davidian, Esq. “We’re grateful to the Baghdassarian Family for their generosity and, more importantly, for carrying forward Hacop Baghdassarian’s legacy of patriotism, philanthropy, and leadership.”

Baghdassarian’s decades-long and storied efforts in advancing Armenian education, culture and the just aspirations of the Armenian Nation both here in the United States and in Armenia, Artsakh and Javakhk made him an exemplary Armenian and a passionate humanitarian who, with humility and dedication, changed many lives due to his generosity.

In March 2017, Baghdassarian and his wife, Hilda, were honored and recognized for their service in the community by the Armenian Cultural Foundation and Baghdassarian was named ACF Man of the Year. In 2011, Baghdassarian was bestowed with the ANCA-WR Legacy Award at the organization’s annual gala.

Baghdassarian’s contributions to varied organizations earned him numerous accolades from the Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region, the Armenian Relief Society, the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Educational Foundation, through whose programs he rebuilt schools and cultural facilities in Armenia, Artsakh and Javakhk.

His contributions have enabled the Vahan and Anoush Chamlian school to be endowed with a state-of-the-art gymnasium, Armenia’s and Artsakh’s rural village to have top-notch schools and cultural centers and the ARS to advance its activities in Javakhk and the ANCA to advance its pursuit of the Armenian Cause.

In 2016, during a pontifical visit to Los Angeles, His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia bestowed the “Prince of Cilicia” medal to Hacop and Hilda Baghdassarian.

Baghdassarian was born in Tehran, Iran on March 30, 1948 to Petros and Marous Malek Baghdassarian. He grew up in Tehran with his four sisters – Nora, Emma, Rima and Asieh. He attended Kooshesh Armenian School in Tehran until the age of fifteen when his father Petros unexpectedly died from a heart attack. Baghdassarian cut short his educational aspirations to attend to his father’s paint supply business. He maintained his father’s reputation as a fair and honest entrepreneur and was sought out by young Armenians arriving in Tehran looking for work.

In 1973, Hacop married Hilda Voskanian and later had two sons, Peter and Gevik. In 1979, leaving behind the turmoil of the Iranian Revolution, Baghdassarian and his family immigrated to the United States. In Los Angeles, Baghdassarian followed his entrepreneurial inclination and opened the first of several restaurants patriotically named “Massis Kabob” in Glendale. For over four decades, Baghdassarian worked tirelessly to make his businesses successful–his motivations always being providing for his family as well as contributing to the Armenian community to the best of his ability.

Baghdassarian often traveled to the rural villages in Armenia to review plans for the renovation of dilapidated elementary schools. Baghdassarian has been responsible for the construction or renovation of several schools in rural Armenia, Artsakh and Javakhk. In 2005, Baghdassarian’s philanthropy and dedication were officially recognized when he received the Yerakhtagitutiun Award for his humanitarian services from then President of Artsakh Arkady Ghoukassian.

MINSK, Belarus—The Armenian team captured 5 gold, 3 silver, and 3 bronze medals as the 2nd European Games ended in Minsk, Belarus, taking the 11th spot, the National Olympic Committee’s press service reported.

Samboist Tigran Kirakosyan (52 kg), Greco-Roman wrestler Artur Aleksanyan (97 kg), boxers Artur Hovhannisyan (49 kg), Hovhannes Bachkov (64 kg), and gymnast Artur Davtyan (vault) became champions of the European Games.

Samboist David Grigoryan (82 kg), Greco-Roman wrestler Karapet Chalyan (77 kg), and gymnast Vahagn Davtyan (rings) won silver medals.

Samboist Arsen Ghazaryan (74 kg), and boxers Karen Tonakanyan (60 kg) and Gor Nersesyan (81 kg) captured bronze medals.

Armenia participated in the European Games with 37 athletes in 9 sports.

More than 4,000 athletes from 50 countries performed at the European Games.

The athletes competed in 15 sports for 200 medal sets.

Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, met with the medalists of the 2nd European Games. He congratulated the sportsmen on their performance throughout the games.

“Your achievements will become a source of inspiration for future generations”, Pashinyan said, addressing the sportsmen.

The sportsmen thanked the Prime Minister for the reception. The trainers and sportsmen also talked about the development opportunities and problems of some types of sports.

At the end of the meeting, Pashinyan wished success in the upcoming tournaments and preparations for the Olympic Games.

VAN NUYS, Calif.,—With Garo and Sosse Eshgian as its Honorary Presidents, Homenetmen’s 44th Navasartian Games’ final games and festival weekend is fast approaching. This includes its Victory Banquet, opening and closing ceremonies, and four-day festival.

The much-anticipated Victory Banquet will be held on Sunday, June 30 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. During this event, Garo and Sosse Eshgian will formally accept their role as Honorary Presidents of the 44th Navasartian Games. The Eshgian’s will continue this role beyond the Navasartian Games, and throughout the upcoming year, with their insights and guidance, supporting the organization in various ways. During the event, the 2019 Exemplary Homenetmen Member, Vartkes Shekherdemian, will also be recognized.

The Victory Banquet also serves as the prime occasion to gather Homenetmen members spanning generations, who will collectively celebrate the victories of the Navasartian Games.

The four-day festival of the Navasartian Games will officially open on Wednesday, July 3 at Birmingham High School. The high school is located at 17000 Haynes St., Van Nuys, CA 91406. A flag ceremony, performed by Homenetmen scouts, will be led by the Homenetmen Regional Marching Band. Well-known singer Varand will sing the anthems.

During the course of the festival’s four days, entertainment will be provided by well-known singers in the community. The first night’s program will include patriotic Armenian songs by Karnig Sarkissian, followed by fireworks.

The grounds of the festival will include numerous booths with items for sale by various vendors. Food will be available for purchase through various Homenetmen chapters’ booths, with members preparing and serving a variety of foods.

A children’s arts & crafts booth will be open for youth of all ages and, on each evening between the hours of 6:30 – 7:30 p.m., there will be a performance by the children’s singer Maggie.

Athletic games will continue in the gyms and field of Birmingham High School, including basketball, volleyball, and soccer. Individual sports will also be held, as follows:

• Chess, ping-pong, and tennis tournaments will be held on Thursday, July 4 starting at 9 a.m.
• Track and field competitions will be held on Friday, July 5 starting at 8 a.m.
• Swimming competitions will be held on Saturday, July 6 starting at 8 a.m.

For the second year in a row, the Homenetmen Hrashq program athletes, comprised of youth with disabilities, will also be participating in the Navasartian Games. Alongside their participation in track and field competitions, Hrashq athletes will also participate in soccer games as well this year.

The Navasartian closing ceremony will be held on Saturday, July 6, at 6 p.m. on the field of Birmingham High School. As spectators gather for the closing ceremony, a half hour program will include entertainment by the Homenetmen marching band, a performance by the children’s singer Maggie, and a number of songs dedicated to Homenetmen will be sung by Varand.

The closing ceremony will begin with a flag ceremony by Homenetmen scouts, led by the Homenetmen marching band. After remarks are delivered, the parade of scouts and athletes will take place, after which trophies will be distributed in the various sports.

Following the closing ceremony, the festival will continue until midnight. Concurrently, the women’s and men’s basketball championship games will be held in the main gym. Tickets for these games are $20 per person, which can be purchased online.

The festival’s daily admission for adults is $10 per person and $7 for children. A daily parking pass is $5 per vehicle. The price for preferred parking is $10 per vehicle.

The Homenetmen Regional Executive looks forward to the attendance of community members on July 3 – 6 at Birmingham High School, as the 44th Navasartian Games conclude.

Additional information regarding the Homenetmen 44th Navasartian Games can be obtained by following articles published in Asbarez Newspaper, visiting the Homenetmen website, watching the HTV program, as well as contacting the Homenetmen Regional Office at (323) 344-4300.

The following is the entertainment schedule for the July 3 – 6 festival:

Wednesday, July 3
A special opening ceremony will be held during which Homenetmen scouts will perform a flag ceremony led by the Homenetmen Regional Marching Band. Well-known singer and Homenetmen member Varand will perform the anthems. Entertainment will follow, as such:

Anto Teghararian: 7:45 – 8:35 p.m.
Anoush Petrosyan: 8:35 – 9:05 p.m.
Karnig Sarkissian & Fireworks: 9:15 p.m. – Midnight

Thursday, July 4
Hagop Hovsepian: 7 – 8 p.m.
Artin Bedrossian: 8 – 8:30 p.m.
Arsham Babelian: 8:30 – 9:15 p.m.
Lia (Bamboo): 9:15 – 10 p.m.
Suro: 10 – 10:30 p.m.
Narek Magaryan: 10:30 – 11 p.m.
Tigran Asatryan: 11 p.m. – Midnight

Friday, July 5
Garen Dakessian: 7 – 8 p.m.
Sako Tashjian (Canada): 8 – 9 p.m.
David Lousakian (France): 9 – 10 p.m.
Suro: 10 – 10:30 p.m.
Vartan Tahmazian: 10:30 – 11:30 p.m.
Sako Tashjian: 11:30 p.m. – Midnight

Saturday, July 6
Arno: 8 – 9 p.m.
Mer Hovo: 9 – 9:30 p.m.
Varand & Fireworks: 9:30 – 10 p.m.
David Lousakian: 10 p.m. – 11 p.m.
Ararad Amadyan: 11 p.m. – Midnight

GLENDALE—On June 11, after bidding farewell to City Councilman Zareh Sinanyan, who resigned his seat to take a position in the Armenian government, the Glendale City Council decided to fill the vacancy through an appointment and not call a special election, which reportedly could cost taxpayers upward of a million dollars.

According to MyGlendale.com, the city council opened an application process, emphasizing that the only qualification for the vacant position was being a registered voter and a resident of the City of Glendale.

The Council did state that they did not wish to give a potential candidate for the 2020 March election the leg up, however they stopped short of completely disqualifying those considering a run for the March elections. As of 5 p.m. on June 17, which was the application deadline, 45 individuals had applied to fill the vacant post.

The Glendale City Council will appoint a replacement for Sinanyan’s vacant seat during a special council meeting at 10 a.m. Friday.

Below is the list of the 45 applicants, whose complete applications are available online. st1yle=”margin:0px 0px 10px”>1. Alvarez, Adrian
2. Amirian, Zareh
3. Armenian, Zanku
4. Avedian, Nejdeh
5. Brooks, Beth
6. Brotman, Dan
7. Castillo, Nelson A.
8. Christopher-Jilizian, Julie 9
. Coshland, Robert
1O.Culver, Burt
11.Dadian, Rostom
12.De La Cruz, Juan
13.Fiaga, Linda
14.GaIlo, Frank
15. Gevorkyan, Nelson
16.Gharibian, Ronnie
17. Harris, Victor
18.Hatamian, Ara
19. Hays, Bonnie
20. Johnson, Danielle D. (Donut Socialite)
21.Kaplan, Kenneth
22. Karaoghlanian, Armen
23. Kassakhian, Ardashes
24. Keurogelian, Chahe
25. Krikorian, Raffy
26.Kwak, Karen (Jae Eun)
27. Lamb, Christy
28. Legino, Steve (Lily La Rocco)
29. Lizagub, Taron
30. Magpapian, Manuel
31. Manoukian, Leonard
32. Marlis, Beth
33. Michals, Grant
34.Ordubegian, Andre
35.Quinonez Gabrielian, Anita
36. Quintero, Frank
37. Reed, Annie
38.Sadd, Louie
39. Samuel, John
40. Sanchez, Joseph
41.Solis, Lenore
42. Van Gorder, Mike
43.Zarokian, Adrineh “Audry”
44. Hovhannisyan, Samvel LV ‘BIT 2
45. Renn, Charles C.