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AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone 212.319.6383 x.118
Fax 212.319.6507
Email [email protected]
Website www.agbu.org
PRESS RELEASE
Thursday, January 20, 2005
AGBU MONTREAL UNVEILS NEWLY RENOVATED, STATE-OF-THE-ART COMMUNITY
CENTER
Montreal, Quebec - After five years of meticulous planning and
steadfast support from AGBU donors, members, and friends, AGBU
Montreal unveiled its newly renovated, state-of-the-art Alex Manoogian
Community Center Saturday, October 30, 2004. The recent unveiling of
the CAN$1 million, renovated Center symbolizes for the community a
renewed commitment by AGBU to its revitalization and continued
presence in Canada.
Demonstrating his vote of confidence in the future growth of the
Montreal Armenian community, AGBU Honorary Life President Alex
Manoogian acquired the site in Ville St. Laurent, Quebec in 1977. The
Center, along with the adjacent Armen Quebec - Alex Manoogian School,
thrived to become a cultural hub of the Montreal Armenian community in
the '70s and '80s. Due to general wear and tear on the facilities, the
Center was confronted in the '90s with functional challenges to
accommodate its new programs and services.
Propelled into the 21st century, the Center can now boast, among other
improvements, three new halls, advanced audiovisual capabilities, new
furnishings, and accommodations for the physically handicapped. The
short-term sacrifices, willingly made by AGBU Montreal to reach their
long-term goal, including the closing of the Center for six months,
were worth the wait. As they usher in this new period with much pride,
the Center is now readily equipped with the proper resources to keep
pace with the needs of its growing community and its youth in
particular.
Fundamental to the preservation of the Armenian community, AGBU
Montreal is committed to advancing the future of Armenian youth by
adding new dimensions to their lives and offering a clear path of
education, opportunity, and leadership. The Center accommodates a host
of activities throughout the calendar year including the Youth Sports
Programs, Scouting, University Student Events, a Young Professionals
Group, an Armenian Studies Program, a Genocide Recognition Committee,
a Social and Fundraising Events Committee, a Cultural Committee, a
Bridge Club, and a Golden Age Group.
In commemoration of this landmark occasion, AGBU Montreal planned a
weekend complete with festivities and fanfare kicking off Thursday,
October 27 with an exhibition by local artists. Welcomed by the AGBU
Scouts' marching band Saturday morning, over 300 guests attended the
official opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new Dervishian,
Demirdjian, and Yacoubian Halls. In attendance were AGBU President
Berge Setrakian, Vice President Arshavir Gundjian, and Central Board
member Sam Simonian, His Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanian Primate of
the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Canada, and over a dozen
prominent Canadian federal, provincial, and municipal government
officials, including Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay and the Honorable
Stéphane Dion, Canadian Minister for the Environment.
On Saturday evening, over 200 guests attended the inauguration banquet
and were treated to a grand tour of the newly renovated Center. The
following Sunday morning, a requiem service in memory of Alex and
Marie Manoogian and deceased AGBU founders, members, and benefactors
was held at St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Cathedral. Following
the services, Setrakian set aside time too meet exclusively with over
100 of the city's youth emphasizing the importance of their ongoing
involvement in the community, the value gained by approaching AGBU to
implement their fresh ideas, and the various ways to restore pride in
Diasporan youth through the preservation of language and culture. The
weekend came to a fitting close Sunday evening at Salle Collège
Brébeuf where 600 spectators enjoyed sold-out performances by renowned
Los Angeles singer Hovig Krikorian and 45 members of the Shushi
Armenian Dance Ensemble of St. Vartan Cathedral in New York.
AGBU Montreal, founded in 1957, is dedicated to preserving and
promoting the Armenian heritage and culture through humanitarian,
educational, cultural, and social programs reaching the Armenian
population within the greater Montreal region. For more information,
please contact AGBU Montreal at 514-748-2428 or e-mail
[email protected]. For more information on AGBU and its
chapters, please visit www.agbu.org.
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone 212.319.6383 x.118
Fax 212.319.6507
Email [email protected]
Website www.agbu.org
PRESS RELEASE
Thursday, January 20, 2005
AGBU MONTREAL UNVEILS NEWLY RENOVATED, STATE-OF-THE-ART COMMUNITY
CENTER
Montreal, Quebec - After five years of meticulous planning and
steadfast support from AGBU donors, members, and friends, AGBU
Montreal unveiled its newly renovated, state-of-the-art Alex Manoogian
Community Center Saturday, October 30, 2004. The recent unveiling of
the CAN$1 million, renovated Center symbolizes for the community a
renewed commitment by AGBU to its revitalization and continued
presence in Canada.
Demonstrating his vote of confidence in the future growth of the
Montreal Armenian community, AGBU Honorary Life President Alex
Manoogian acquired the site in Ville St. Laurent, Quebec in 1977. The
Center, along with the adjacent Armen Quebec - Alex Manoogian School,
thrived to become a cultural hub of the Montreal Armenian community in
the '70s and '80s. Due to general wear and tear on the facilities, the
Center was confronted in the '90s with functional challenges to
accommodate its new programs and services.
Propelled into the 21st century, the Center can now boast, among other
improvements, three new halls, advanced audiovisual capabilities, new
furnishings, and accommodations for the physically handicapped. The
short-term sacrifices, willingly made by AGBU Montreal to reach their
long-term goal, including the closing of the Center for six months,
were worth the wait. As they usher in this new period with much pride,
the Center is now readily equipped with the proper resources to keep
pace with the needs of its growing community and its youth in
particular.
Fundamental to the preservation of the Armenian community, AGBU
Montreal is committed to advancing the future of Armenian youth by
adding new dimensions to their lives and offering a clear path of
education, opportunity, and leadership. The Center accommodates a host
of activities throughout the calendar year including the Youth Sports
Programs, Scouting, University Student Events, a Young Professionals
Group, an Armenian Studies Program, a Genocide Recognition Committee,
a Social and Fundraising Events Committee, a Cultural Committee, a
Bridge Club, and a Golden Age Group.
In commemoration of this landmark occasion, AGBU Montreal planned a
weekend complete with festivities and fanfare kicking off Thursday,
October 27 with an exhibition by local artists. Welcomed by the AGBU
Scouts' marching band Saturday morning, over 300 guests attended the
official opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new Dervishian,
Demirdjian, and Yacoubian Halls. In attendance were AGBU President
Berge Setrakian, Vice President Arshavir Gundjian, and Central Board
member Sam Simonian, His Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanian Primate of
the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Canada, and over a dozen
prominent Canadian federal, provincial, and municipal government
officials, including Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay and the Honorable
Stéphane Dion, Canadian Minister for the Environment.
On Saturday evening, over 200 guests attended the inauguration banquet
and were treated to a grand tour of the newly renovated Center. The
following Sunday morning, a requiem service in memory of Alex and
Marie Manoogian and deceased AGBU founders, members, and benefactors
was held at St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Cathedral. Following
the services, Setrakian set aside time too meet exclusively with over
100 of the city's youth emphasizing the importance of their ongoing
involvement in the community, the value gained by approaching AGBU to
implement their fresh ideas, and the various ways to restore pride in
Diasporan youth through the preservation of language and culture. The
weekend came to a fitting close Sunday evening at Salle Collège
Brébeuf where 600 spectators enjoyed sold-out performances by renowned
Los Angeles singer Hovig Krikorian and 45 members of the Shushi
Armenian Dance Ensemble of St. Vartan Cathedral in New York.
AGBU Montreal, founded in 1957, is dedicated to preserving and
promoting the Armenian heritage and culture through humanitarian,
educational, cultural, and social programs reaching the Armenian
population within the greater Montreal region. For more information,
please contact AGBU Montreal at 514-748-2428 or e-mail
[email protected]. For more information on AGBU and its
chapters, please visit www.agbu.org.