Author: Nahapetian Zhanna

MISSION HILLS – This year marks Ararat Home’s 70th anniversary, which will be celebrated with a banquet on Saturday, May 11, featuring a tribute program and wonderful entertainment.

Established in 1949 by a group of visionaries, Ararat Home was created to serve our community by caring for our elderly. For 70 years, it has been home to thousands of Armenians – men and women, parents and grandparents, generations of our compatriots, who have received comfort, compassion, and loving care there. With tremendous community support since its founding, Ararat Home has grown from its humble beginnings and has succeeded in carrying on its mission of care for seven decades.

As the tribute video prepared for the occasion shows (available online), Ararat Home’s journey began in Los Angeles’ Historic West Adams District with seven residents moving into film star Mary Pickford’s mansion, which was purchased for $12,000. From its early days, when securing funding for mortgage payments and daily needs was a struggle, through its periods of growth, the Home has today become a million dollar operation, employing over 400 staff and caring for 400 residents in three facilities on two campuses.

Ararat Home Board of Trustees Chair Michael Surmeian credits community support for this growth and success. “Thanks to the generosity and dedication of countless supporters – members of the community, philanthropists, and organizations – who have sustained the Home’s mission for decades, Ararat Home has become the pride of the Southern California Armenian community. And, in return for this investment of support, the Home has continually endeavored to serve the community well.”

“We consider it our duty and privilege to serve our community in this capacity,” says Chief Operating Officer Derik Ghookasian. “At Ararat Home, we strive to provide each of our residents with individualized, comprehensive, quality care. In the uniquely Armenian, family environment of the Home, residents find companionship, life enrichment and dignity, and their families find support, understanding and peace of mind. These are qualities that set Ararat Home apart in the industry of long-term, elder care. And, our community deserves nothing less than our very best effort.”

In order to meet the ever-increasing needs of the community and the demand for its services, Ararat Home has achieved several milestones during its 70 year history. In 1980, it purchased Ararat Convalescent Hospital in Eagle Rock. And, in 1981, it purchased 10.5 acres of agricultural land in Mission Hills, which it developed and opened as its new campus in 1992. After several phases of expansion through 2018, the campus is now home to Ararat Assisted Living Facility, Ararat Nursing Facility, Ararat-Eskijian Museum, Deukmejian Community Center, and Sheen Memorial Chapel.

With its most recent acquisition of 13 acres of virtually undeveloped land adjacent to its Mission Hills campus, Ararat Home is planning to create a true Continuing Care Retirement Community with independent living units, recreational areas, additional assisted living and skilled nursing capacity, and memory care units.

Mr. Surmeian remarks that the new project builds upon the successes of the past. “70 years of unparalleled service to the community is certainly worth celebrating. Ararat Home is a pillar of our community; we are all in some way connected to it, and it belongs to all of us. With the endless possibilities of a new campus awaiting us, the Home needs your support now. Come dream with us and help bring this dream to fruition!”

A 70th Anniversary Banquet is planned for Saturday, May 11, at 6:30 p.m. in Deukmejian Grand Ballroom on the Ararat Home campus, in Mission Hills. Entertainment will be provided by ALLEN G. ORCHESTRA, and television personality and author Jill Simonian Panossian (website) will serve as the Mistress of Ceremonies. Tickets are $175, and sponsorship opportunities are available. For inquiries, you may call (818) 365-3000, email, or visit the website.

Ararat Home is a non-political, non-denominational, non-profit organization with the mission of providing assisted living and skilled nursing care facilities, primarily for the Armenian community, and of promoting Armenian culture and heritage in the United States.

LOS ANGELES—ServiceTitan, the world’s leading all-in-one software for the residential service business, has leased 125,000 square feet of office space at 800 N. Brand, cementing its position as a keystone tech employer in Glendale.

“Last November was a historic milestone for ServiceTitan, as well as for vertical software and the tech industry based in Southern California,” said Ara Mahdessian, co-founder and CEO of ServiceTitan.

“With the backing of some of Silicon Valley’s finest venture capital firms, we can expand our product offering to further invest in the success of our customers. With this new office expansion, we’ll be able to grow and develop teams that can deliver on new innovations and anticipate the demands of our customers so they can grow right along with us,” added Mahdessian.

ServiceTitan has roughly doubled in size over the past two years, and plans to grow to nearly 1,000 employees globally by the end of 2019. The company was recently named to Built In LA’s 2019 Best Places to Work list, has been named one of the best places to work by Inc. and the Los Angeles Business Journal, and placed on the Forbes Cloud 100 list of the world’s best private cloud computing companies. Recently ServiceTitan was named to Business Insider’s list of “44 enterprise startups to bet your career on in 2019” and was the only LA-based company to make the list. ServiceTitan’s revenue and growth metrics have resulted in valuation that makes the company a tech unicorn.

“Over the past three years, Glendale has implemented a robust tech strategy, including taking proactive steps to support local companies like ServiceTitan,” Glendale Mayor Zareh Sinanyan said.

“We are extremely proud of the success and ongoing growth of ServiceTitan, and grateful to its co-founders, Ara and Vahe – two native sons of this community – for choosing to invest, and grow in Glendale. I look forward to seeing the ServiceTitan name on top of this iconic building, both as a reminder of their integral part of the early energy of our tech revolution, as well as their influential role as Glendale continues to expand and become a more vibrant hub in the region for technology and innovation,” added Sinanyan.

Plans to move into the new space are underway, with a grand opening event scheduled for later in 2019.

“We are looking forward to this next chapter,” Mahdessian said. “We’re on a mission to become the No. 1 tech employer of choice in Southern California, so if you’re passionate about changing lives and achieving the extraordinary. We’d love to share the journey with you.”

ServiceTitan currently has U.S. offices in Los Angeles and Atlanta and an office in Armenia, and is expected to grow substantially in 2019.

ServiceTitan is a software company built to accelerate the $400B home service sector. ServiceTitan’s end-to-end software suite includes CRM, intelligent dispatch, custom reporting, marketing automation, a mobile solution for field techs, and accounting integrations with Sage Intacct and QuickBooks.