KNIGHTS AND DAUGHTERS OF VARTAN TO HONOR MATHEVOSIAN, TOUFAYANS
By Taleen Babayan
knights-and-daughters-of-vartan-to-honor-mathevosi an-toufayans/
March 3, 2010
NEW YORK-The Mid-Atlantic Knights and Daughters of Vartan will hold
their Third Annual Awards Dinner on Sat., March 27, under the auspices
of His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese
of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) at Kavookjian Hall in
New York.
The Lifetime Humanitarian Benefactor Award will be presented to
Anoush Mathevosian and Mr. and Mrs. Harry and Suzanne Toufayan, three
deserving figures in the Armenian community who have actively and
continuously supported both their homeland and the Armenian Diaspora
in countless ways.
Born in Egypt to the son of a baker, Harry Toufayan, immigrated to
the U.S. in 1963 with his parents. He continued his family’s baking
tradition by opening up his first plant in West New York, N.J. in
1968. In 1973, he moved operations from West New York to North Bergen
where the business flourished over the next three decades. As Toufayan
Bakeries continued to expand, he once again moved his business to its
current location in Ridgefield where his plant now comprises 115,000
square feet and employs 250 people. He opened two more plants in
Orlando, Fla. in 1985 and Plant City in 2006, which combined employ
over 500 people.
Harry and Suzanne Toufayan have been active and long-time supporters
of Armenia and Armenian organizations. They funded the Youth Center in
Etchmiadzin and are the benefactors of St. Haroutun Church in Orlando
Florida (named after Harry Toufayan’s father) which will be completed
in April 2010. They are also the major benefactors of an upcoming
expansion of St. Mary Armenian Church in Livingston, N.J. In addition,
the church hall at St. Mary’s is named after Harry Toufayan’s parents.
Harry and Suzanne Toufayan have also been generous supporters of the
Armenian Radio Hour of New Jersey program since its inception over
30 years ago.
Toufayan married his wife Suzanne, a registered nurse at Mt. Sinai
Hospital in New York, in 1969 at the Holy Martyrs Armenian Church in
Bayside, Queens. They have three children-Karen, Kristine, and Gregory,
who are all involved in the family business-and seven grandchildren.
Anoush Mathevosian was born in Iran in 1926, the daughter of a priest,
and one of eight children. She immigrated to the U.S. for her college
education and received her nursing license in New York. She then
graduated from Teacher’s College at Columbia University and worked
as a nurse for 16 years.
In the 1960’s, Mathevosian started a successful real estate business
with her sister. Over the years, she has supported Armenia in many
ways. In 1997, she funded Camp Siranoush in Yeghegnadzor. The purpose
was to have a campsite for children whose parents had died in the
Karabagh war. In 2002, she built the Mathevosian School in Vanadzor.
She also started the Mathevosian Scholarship in conjunction with the
Fund for Armenian Relief, which provides scholarships to students in
Armenia who want to pursue a college education.
In addition, Mathevosian has been a supporter of the Armenian-American
Cultural Association and its humanitarian project in Armenia, the
Armenian American Wellness Center. She has also been a trustee of the
Armenian Assembly of America and Board Member of the Armenian National
Institute, and a longtime supporter of the Fund for Armenian Relief.
Serving as master of ceremonies for the Awards Dinner will be Prof.
Dennis Papazian, professor emeritus and founding director of the
Armenian Research Center at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He
was also the founding director of the Armenian Assembly of America
and is an active member of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of
America (Eastern), where he has served as a member and officer of
the Diocese Council.
Special entertainment for the evening will be provided by the Akh’tamar
Dance Ensemble of St. Thomas Armenian Church in Tenafly, N.J. The
group, founded in 1994 by a group of parents so their children could
maintain their Armenian heritage in the United States, now consists of
over 80 young Armenian boys and girls. The Akh’tamar Dance Ensemble has
performed around the country and is under the leadership of director
and choreographer Sylva Asadourian.
The 2010 Knights and Daughters of Vartan Annual Awards Dinner will
be held at Kavookjian Hall, 630 Second Ave. in New York City. The
cocktail reception is at 6:30 p.m., followed by the program and dinner
at 7:30 p.m. To purchase tickets, call Shake at (718) 729-7265.
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