AGBU New England District 110th Anniversary Banquet Raises $1.22 Million, Honors Afeyan and Guleserian

He came to Boston to pursue a PhD from 1983-87 in MIT and joined the Daron Dance Ensemble in Watertown his second year, which allowed him to rediscover being Armenian. He also joined a basketball team. Both the dance ensemble and the team were part of the AGBU, beginning his close relationship with the organization.

He became involved in the Armenia Fund, and then in 2001, after meeting fellow entrepreneur Ruben Vardanyan of Russia, created Armenia 2020 to help Armenia grow. This in turn led to several other projects and foundations.

By the time the Armenian Genocide centennial approached, he said he realized that simply asking for justice weighed Armenians down because it limited the number of ways in which they interact with the world. He and Vardanyan created the 100 Lives Initiative, which worked for remembrance, and in 2016 the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, which honors people completely unrelated to Armenians who are taking risks and doing the same things today as the saviors of the Armenians did a century ago. Afeyan noted that this put Armenia on the map of international humanitarianism for the first time.

Several years ago, Afeyan was asked to join the AGBU Central Board, intensifying his relationship with the AGBU. Afeyan said that the AGBU realizes that the old Armenian diaspora is going to dissolve and a new diaspora centrally focused on having a country will take over.

Afeyan urged Armenians to be more original than others, keep their roots firmly planted in the future, not the past, and not drop their standards when it comes to the Republic of Armenia. He called for all Armenians to be born-again Armenians who choose their identity, with the degree of Armenian blood or biological inheritance not relevant to this identity.

Finally, he called the attention of the audience to the new book by Dr. Hayk Demoyan, visiting head of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute of Yerevan, on the Armenian legacy in America, which shows, Afeyan said, how good we really are in this country. Demoyan came to the podium to say a few words about his work.

After Afeyan, Oganesyan introduced Guleserian, the pediatric heart surgeon known as “Dr. G.” to her patients. Guleserian is one of only 11 specialists in her field, who has carried out the world’s youngest combined heart-liver transplant, the world’s smallest and youngest heart transplant in a one-week-old, the worlds’ smallest and youngest pacemaker placement and the world’s smallest and youngest total artificial implant. She is a superstar, giving back to the Armenian community with her initiative to help pediatric patients in Armenia.

Guleserian gave a detailed talk about her work, peppered with humor and Red Sox and Armenian references. The name of her great-great-uncle, Catholicos Papken Guleserian, for example, came in handy in an unusual situation. She first learned about AGBU as a child through her family.

Guleserian gave examples of some of her famous cases, illustrated by slides, and took advantage of the opportunity to educate her audience. She pointed out that congenital heart disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide in infants, with some operations needing to be conducted within hours of delivery.

Guleserian is director of Heart Failure and Transplantation at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami, Florida, and served previously for over a decade as the Surgical Director of Pediatric Cardiac Transplantation at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.

Ara Balikian took the podium to speak about the Amvets and their close connection to the AGBU NE District. He called up their members who were in the audience, as well as AGBU President Setrakian, in order to recognize their generous donation and service over the years. A video about their work was played, and a plaque was presented  to them.

Closing remarks at the banquet were given by Setrakian, who congratulated the awardees and exclaimed, “It has been a very emotional 24 hours in Boston.” He stated that he grapples with the question of how to attract the new generation to become Armenians by their own choice. He said that the nostalgia for the past or the old country would not work. Instead, Setrakian said, “We need heroes. Kristine and Noubar tonight are symbols of the new generation. The new generation will come and see how successful Armenians can be, yet they are Armenians by choice.”

Setrakian said, “That is where our mission has to be focused. That is why AGBU is committed to excellence.” He added, “I am elitist, but I am not talking about social elitism, but about successful professional elitism.”

Historically, Setrakian said, AGBU always believed that unless we take care of Armenia, there is no future in the diaspora. He concluded, “We are not abandoning our programs in the diaspora, because the diaspora is very important, but one way to reinforce Armenian power in the diaspora is to make sure that we have a prosperous, independent, democratic, and free Armenia.” He issued a call to the other organizations represented in the hall to work together, exclaiming “there is nothing that separates us,” while the needs are so great.

The banquet was the highlight of a weekend devoted to AGBU activities, including a town hall meeting Friday night at District Hall in the Seaport area of Boston. Setrakian and members of the Central Board responded to questions from over 50 students and AGBU Young Professionals (YPs). Afterwards, over 120 YPs went to a nightclub called The Grand for relaxation.

During the banquet, a silent auction with Armenian art, exotic getaways and other prizes helped raise money for AGBU. After the banquet, there was a reception at the gastropub Meadhall nearby in Cambridge.