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The first general meeting took place in the St. Gregory the Illuminator Church
Hall. More than 60 Alumni were present for this inaugural meeting. The key
points discussed at this first meeting were:
The presentation of the Organizing
Committee.
The schedule of November 3, 2007
event.
The promotion of the book; (500
English and 500 Armenian copies were scheduled to reach us before the November
event).
The current Alumni list was shared
amongst all present to facilitate the longer term networking of our Mekhitarian
alumni.
The first general meeting was a very
positive one! Most attendees left the meeting very
enthusiastic about the committee’s mission and willingly volunteered to
participate and support this historic event both morally and financially. Seeing
the overwhelming positive feedback the committee in their subsequent meetings
prepared a letter, that was sent to all Alumni, asking alumni to participate in
the November event by donating $200.00 per family to assist with the expenses
for that commemorative evening; specifically to cover the cost for the books and
to fund the travel expenses for the Abbot and his “Kavasanagir” Father Vertanes
Oulohogian as well as other miscellaneous expenses. The $200.00 donation was
suggested at the first meeting and accepted by the Alumni members present at the
May meeting. A bank account was opened for this event.
It should be noted that everyone
involved put their best foot forward to ensure the November
event was a successful one. Special thanks go to Mrs. Christine Sarkissian, who
spent many
hours preparing all print materials including flyers, letters, mailing lists
etc. she also compiled addresses, coordinated advertising efforts and created &
printed the beautiful program.
On September 24, 2007, the organizing
committee called for a second general Meeting of
Alumni to update them on the progress achieved since the May meeting in time for
the big
evening and ask for their help to call and talk to people they know, to increase
membership and ensure the event would be a very successful and unique one.
The historic day finally arrived and
on the evening of November 3, 2007 the Armenian
community in Toronto excitedly looked forward to the evening’s activities.
Everybody knew
about the event and more than 450 people precipitated by attending St. Gregory
the Illuminator Armenian Catholic Church. The representatives of all Armenian
churches and organizations were present. Each attendee received a free book;
attendees had the choice to choose either the English, French, Italian or
Armenian versions. With the donations from Alumni and others all= costs were
covered and a donation of $10,000 was presented to the Abbot General as a token
of appreciation from all of us to the Mekhitarian Congregation. it was a token
of thanks to the Mekhitarian Order who have given & continues to give so much to
the Armenians as a whole. We all now know how successful the commemorative
evening was. The praises kept coming in long after the event. A job well done
and much appreciated.
On the very next day, Sunday, we had
the privilege to have an “Appayagan Badarak”, a solemn
abbatial Mass, consecrated by the Abbot General. During this Mass another
cultural
presentation was delivered by the youth and the Altar servers, celebrating and
recalling the
tremendous work of Mekhitarian Vartabeds one more time. During his five day
stay, the Abbot
General of now united Mekhitarian Congrgation, Father Yeghia Kilaghbian and his
entourage
visited all Armenian schools, churches and community centres in the vicinity of
Toronto. Many
newspapers, here in Toronto and abroad, echoed and recorded the successful
commemorative
event. |
