AWWA Hosts Successful 35th Annual Luncheon

Karla Fleming, the executive director of the nursing home, said she wanted to recognize the families of many residents both current and in the past. “Thank you so much for your support, for our deserving elder people,” she said.

Lalig Musserian, who said she was the newest member of the AWWA, addressed the audience in both English and Armenian, before showing a short video on the group’s work both in Boston and in Karabagh. She noted that the luncheons in the past 35 years have netted more than $1 million to benefit the ANRC, which was founded in 1948.

The AWWA’s outreach in Karabagh started in 1994.

Musserian praised the nursing home’s state- of-the-art medical care and rehabilitation equipment, as well as the high quality of the food for the seniors. She also singled out Siran Salibian, the ANRC’s activities director, for creating a fun atmosphere for the seniors.

Cindy Fitzgibbon of Fox25 Morning News, and Jordan Rich, of WBZ News Radio 1030, were the guest auctioneers. The two bantered lightly, with Rich often prodding the audience to bid higher, which resulted in a very successful auction.

Several of the items in the live auction were sports-related; those were the ones that netted the highest figures. A basketball donated by the Boston Celtics, which was autographed by the members of the 2009-2010 team, fetched $850 in a fierce bidding war. Other items in the auction were two luxury box tickets to the New England Patriots on November 21, a table for six guests at the Armenian Night at the Pops in June, tickets to the Boston Celtics, an overnight stay at the Burlington Marriott with breakfast for two, an orchid planter and a four-foot giraffe and chimpanzee.