From left, Mihran and Rosalyn Minassian with Hilda and Saro Hartounian

Armenian Mirror-Spectator Gala Raises $135,000

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By Alin K. Gregorian

Mirror-Spectator Staff

NEWTON, Mass. — A glamorous gala on Friday, November 3, capped off the 85th anniversary commemoration events for the Armenian Mirror-Spectator.

The event raised a total of $135,000 which will go into the newspapers operational budget.

The event was short on speeches and long on fun and surprises.

About 200 people attended the program, which included comments from and awards to the four guest journalists, Robert Fisk, David Barsamian, Amberin Zaman and Philip Terzian.

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Fisk received the lifetime achievement award from the Armenian Mirror-Spectator, while the other three received award of excellence.

Fisk joked while picking up his award from Edmond Azadian, the head of the Tekeyan Cultural Association of the US and Canada, and the senior columnist for the Mirror-Spectator, that the award is usually given to someone in the twilight of life and asked if the editorial board of the paper had spoken to his physician.

In his introduction, Azadian paid tribute to Fisk and his body of work, calling him “a warrior for the truth.”

Both Barsamian and Terzian spoke briefly using humor deftly to thank the newspaper for the award.

Zaman also spoke briefly, but her remarks about her ailing mother, whom she could not visit because she cannot return to Turkey, elicited sighs from the audience.

Serving as mistress of ceremonies was Anaide Nahikian, who leads the Advanced Training Program on Humanitarian Action (ATHA) at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative.

From left, Dr. Shant Barseghian, Jean-Jacques Hajjar and Vache Astarjian
Jack and Diane Keverian

Nicole Babikian Hajjar, the chair of the 85th celebration committee, opened the program with a brief overview of the event. She, in turn, was surprised by an award from Kevork Marashlian, the former Tekeyan Cultural Association executive director, for her tireless efforts in organizing the program.

Marashlian was also surprised, albeit reluctantly, by Mirror-Spectator editor Alin K. Gregorian, for his decades of help to various groups in the community. His daughter surprised him by arriving from Washington.

Members of the committee for the 85th anniversary, aside from Babikian Hajjar, included Zela Astarjian, Carolyn Atinizian Yardemian, Nigoghos Atinizian, Pirouz Bogossian, Mary Goudsouzian, Stephen Kurkjian, Kevork Marashlian, Anahid Mardiros, Hrip Parsekian, Herman Purutyan, Peter Yapoudjian, Arlette Yegumians and Barbara Chrakian Tellalian, as well as Mirror-Spectator staff Gregorian, Aram Arkun, Marc Mgrditchian and Hasmik Saroyan. Serving as coordinator was Sara Janjigian Trifiro.

Harry and Hrip Parsekian were the grand patrons of the program.

Also present were Hagop Vartivarian, the chair of the ADL Press Committee, as well as Saro and Hilda Hartunian from New Jersey. Hilda Hartunian is the chair of the Greater New York Chapter of the Tekeyan Cultural Committee.

The audience danced to the music of the Black Sea Salsa Band.

Extra photos and clips from the gala, as well as a full video of the symposium the previous night are expected to be available shortly at www.mirrorspectator.com

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