TCA Pays Tribute to Veteran Cultural Ambassador Hagop Vartivarian
ADL, COMMUNITY, MIRROR-SPECTATOR | JUNE 26, 2014 10:36 PM
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Photo Credit: Hratch Zokian and Diran Jebejian
By Alin K. Gregorian
Mirror-Spectator Staff
TENAFLY, N.J. — The Tekeyan Cultural Association (TCA) paid tribute to
one of its own, Hagop Vartivarian, to mark the 45th anniversary of his
activities in the Armenian Diaspora, at a banquet on June 21, to
dovetail with the TCA convention.
VARTIVARIAN, from page 1
About 350 people attended the banquet, held at the Clinton Inn, to pay
tribute to Vartivarian for his many years of activity within the
Armenian Democratic Liberal party, the TCA as well as supporting the
Armenian Church and culture at large.
The program felt both like a national-level event and a family
reunion. Unity and celebration were the theme, bringing together
people from across party lines.
During the program, Vartivarian received the St. Sahag and St. Mesrob
medal from the Primate, Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, on behalf of the
Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II. In addition, Armenia’s new
ambassador to the United Nations, Zohrab Mnatsakanian, presented the
Movses Khorenatsi Medal to the honoree on behalf of President Serge
Sargisian.
Among those offering remarks about him were his son, Haig Vartivarian,
and brother-in-law, Anthony J. Principi, the former secretary of the
Veterans Administration, as well as his brother, Dr. Zareh
Vartivarian, from California.
His son said, “We are all here to recognize him. He has traveled
across North America, South America, Europe and Asia and befriended
thousands of Armenians, always meeting Armenians. I am programmed to
say, ‘Parev, Hay em. Hagopi tghan em.'” (Hello, I am Armenian. I am
Hagop’s son.)
Dr. Zareh Vartivarian said that the evening was “one of the most
memorable nights for me. He and I are far away in terms of distance,
but together through our souls.” He also thanked all those attending
for honoring his brother, adding, “Hagop is not a person, he is an
institution.”
Principi, the brother of his wife, Maria, said he was delighted to pay
tribute to his “brother, Jack.”
“My family and I share your pride in his accomplishments. He is the
kindest and most intelligent man I have ever met. I have enjoyed the
time we sat together over good Cognac to talk about art,” he added.
“When you visit Jack and Maria’s home, you eat well and drink well and
they send you home with leftovers.”
He paid tribute to the honoree and his wife for taking care of Maria
and Anthony Principi’s mother until her death. “The Jack I know is all
about family. Jack and Maria took care of our mother. Jack was adamant
that she belonged at home.” He also referred to the traumatic history
of the Armenian people, who, like Italians, are family oriented.
Dr. Vaghenag Tarpinian, chair of the Tribute Committee, was the first
to speak. He paid tribute to the honoree in both English and Armenian,
as someone who had done his utmost to create further cultural ties
between Armenia and the diaspora. “I appreciate the person and the
talent” of Vartivarian, who is “ready to move mountains to reach his
goals.”
Edmond Y. Azadian, vice chairman of the TCA Central Committee, offered
one of the keynote addresses about Vartivarian. “His stature in the
community and his impressive achievements command respect. That is why
we are gathered here to extend our tribute to him, thereby recognizing
his valuable contributions to the Tekeyan Cultural Association and the
Armenian community at large.”
He added, “On behalf of the Central Board, it is my distinct pleasure
and privilege to congratulate Mr. Vartivarian on the 45th anniversary
celebration of his multifaceted activities in the Armenian community.
No one on our Central Board needs to be offended when we state that
Hagop is the most active member of that Board.”
Azadian also alluded to the rift in the ADL that for a while had seen
him and Vartivarian in opposing camps. “After years of intense
cooperation, division in our organization threw us into opposite
camps. Hagop even resorted to the extreme. He honored me by publishing
a bi-weekly journal targeting my deeds and misdeeds. I never took it
personally because I believed what he was doing was out of conviction,
for the good of the organization. On the contrary, he was holding my
toes to the fire to do the right thing. Perhaps, in a perverse way, I
was even gratified for having an adversary as honest as Hagop as I am
proud today for having a friend so dedicated.”
He concluded, “His energy is unmatched, his imagination is fascinating
and his collective success is beyond belief. … He is an organizer,
journalist, scholar and actor. Hagop is a Good Samaritan. He wishes to
help everybody, regardless whether those individuals deserve it or
not.”
Dr. Arshavir Gundjian, former chairman of the ADL Central Committee,
spoke in Armenian about Vartivarian’s role in the ADL and the
importance of the ADL in the diaspora. He spoke about the importance
of the Armenian General Benevolent Union, the Church and Tekeyan in
Vartivarian’s life. “He is a soldier in Armenian community as the
leader of the ADL,” he said. He praised the honoree for giving of his
time, ability and resources in the various communities in which he has
lived, including Beirut, Amman, Boston and New York.
Gundjian referred to the “exceptional role of the ADL in our
community,” adding that the party helped keep “the Mother See. It was
the ADL, that thanks to the smart leaders and its influential press,
tied Armenian and Armenians to Holy Echmiadzin.”
He called Vartivarian an “exceptional person” and “one of the leading
activists in our press.”
Dr. Haroutune Arzoumanian of the TCA Central Board also offered
comments praising him.
The event marked the debut of Ambassador Mnatsakanian in the
community. He offered, “I did not know Mr. Vartivarian, but I had
heard so much about him that when I met him, I felt I knew him. I want
to thank you and your colleagues. You have done so much for us and my
colleagues. The way you contribute to Armenia is very special.”
Playwright and freelance writer (and former staff writer for this
newspaper) Taleen Babayan then read a message from her grandfather,
veteran ADL member Yervant Babayan. She then added her own comments,
praising Vartivarian’s patriotism and thanking him for supporting
cultural endeavors, including giving free rehearsal space to the
troupe that performed her play, “Pesad Oor Eh (Where Is Your Groom)?”
at the Tekeyan Center in New Jersey.
The event was not just confined to ADL members. Friend and fellow
culture lover, Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and Hamazkayin
Central Executive Board member Dr. Hrant Markarian delivered an
impassioned tribute to Vartivarian.
“Hagop is a khalis [pure] Ramgavar and I am khalis ARF. But we are in
a secret Armenian culture club. He has never laid down his weapon in
the fight to preserve Armenian culture,” he said.
He received thunderous applause from the audience.
Fellow ARF member, Antranik Kasparian, of the ARF Central Committee of
Eastern US, had sent a letter on the occasion, in which he said,
“Allow me to join the hundreds, from all walks of Armenian life, who
are gathered today in recognition of your service, devotion, and
accomplishments. There are few in our community who possess your gifts
— as journalist, organizer, literary critic, staunch patriot and
partisan; and even fewer who devote these gifts so willingly in the
service of our nation and its cause.
“As is well-known in our community, you and I come from ‘across the
aisle’ to one another: You of staunch liberal, Ramgavar background, I
of equally staunch Dashnaktsakan background. In the past, we have
often focused on those issues that separated or divided us. This was
perhaps necessary at times — especially during the Soviet era, when
ideological divisions continued to affect the functioning of our
diasporan communities. But today, more and more, we are bound by those
issues that unite us, that bring us together in a spirit of
collaboration. It is this spirit that has blossomed between our
different groups, and I look forward to working ever more closely with
you and your colleagues as we seek justice on the momentous occasion
of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
“Today’s tribute is both timely and richly deserved, sireli Hagop. I
join my fellow Dashnaktsakans in extending our warmest congratulations
and best wishes, even though I must extend them from afar.”
The honoree himself spoke with visible emotion, thanking his friends
and family, as well as expressing his gratitude to the president of
Armenia and Catholicos Karekin II for the honors. Welcoming Armenia’s
new ambassador to the UN, he spoke about the ADL’s abiding support for
Armenia, regardless of “the color of its flag. … We are all here to
help Armenia. We have always loved our Armenia and want to strengthen
ties between Armenia and the diaspora.”
He spoke about the importance of the Armenian community and clubs for
serving the youth. He recalled how clubs bring the youth together and
save the Armenian culture. Referring to his own life, he said that he
had lost his mother when he was 16 and his brother 12 and that his
involvement in various Armenian clubs provided a home to them.
Vartivarian thanked many of the sponsors and donors, and reserved his
deep thanks for Barsamian.
Barsamian, when he spoke, quoted the poet Vahan Tekeyan, who had
praised the Armenian Church as the center of the Armenian life. “The
first half of this century was a dark time for our people. Thanks to
people like Hagop, we have an exceptional younger generation now,” he
said. He then offered Vartivarian the encyclical from the Catholicos.
In a surprise, he called Nora Azadian, the wife of Edmond Azadian and
the recently-retired chair of the Detroit Tekeyan Chapter, to the
podium and asked her to recite a poem by Tekeyan. She did, with
emotion, thrilling the audience. He then presented to her, as a
descendent of ADL founder Mihran Damadian and a disciple of Vahan
Tekeyan, a plaque honoring her for her achievements as an artist,
actress and educator, on behalf of the Tekeyan Central Board.
The banquet benefactors were Edward and Carmen Gulbenkian and the
patrons were Henri Dimidjian and Nazar and Artemis Nazarian. Every
attendee received a 120-page program book created by the tribute
committee, featuring letters, reminiscences and photos.
Musical selections were offered by Solange Merdinian, Nicholas
Bompart, Alyne Corrigan and Vagharshag Ohanyan.
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