Featuring Author Dr. H. Martin Deranian, Near East Foundation Board Chairman Shant Mardirossian, South Florida Filmmaker Bared Maronian

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) South Florida Regional Council (SFRC) is pleased to announce that the annual trustees meeting and banquet will be held at the Marriott at Boca Center in Boca Raton, Florida March 14-17, 2014. Members, supporters and friends are all invited to a sunny weekend retreat packed with a wonderful lineup of events with past and present leaders of the Assembly and the greater Armenian American community.

A welcome reception will be held Friday evening, bringing together members and friends from across the country. Later, guests are invited to “Kef Night Boca,” an evening of fun, dancing and entertainment presented by local Florida Armenians.

On Saturday, March 15, the Assembly’s annual trustees meeting and luncheon will be held from 9:00AM-12:30PM. Following lunch, the Assembly is delighted to present three distinguished Armenian American community leaders. From Worcester, Massachusetts, Dr. H. Martin Deranian, author of “President Calvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug,” will discuss his recent book and community efforts to have the Coolidge Rug released and displayed in Washington, D.C. Chairman of the board of directors of the Near East Foundation (NEF), Shant Mardirossian, will deliver a compelling presentation on the Armenian Genocide and efforts of the NEF to help save the survivors. Local South Florida filmmaker, Bared Maronian, will provide a presentation and clips of his award-winning film “Orphans of the Genocide,” which has been broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in several states and featured in Armenian communities across the globe. South Florida is home to some of the genocide survivors featured in the film. The Assembly is privileged to present this diverse panel of speakers to the south Florida community. Presentations will be held from 12:30PM-2:00PM and are free and open to the public.

Saturday evening, members, supporters and friends are all invited to the Assembly’s annual dinner and banquet, where former chairman of the board, Michael Haratunian, will be officially honored. A participant of the Airlie conferences that established the Armenian Assembly of America in 1972, Haratunian served as a member of the board of directors for several years including four years as chairman. See Michael’s full biography here. The dinner and banquet will feature remarks from Assembly board members, executive director Bryan Ardouny and community leaders.

Members are also invited to the 22nd annual St. David Armenian Church charity golf tournament at the Via Mizner golf and country club in Boca Raton on Monday, March 17. For more information on the golf tournament please click here or call St. David Armenian Church at (561) 994-2335.

All Assembly events will be held at the Marriott at Boca Center. Major donor packages are available at the following levels: Benefactor ($1,000) receives two complimentary tickets to the banquet; Pillar ($2,500) receives two complimentary tickets to all events including the major donor brunch on Sunday; Torchbearer ($5,000) receives four complimentary tickets to all events including the major donor brunch on Sunday; and Guardian ($10,000) receives eight complimentary tickets to all events including the major donor brunch on Sunday.

Hotel arrangements can be made by calling 1-800-228-9290 or click here to get the special Assembly room rate of only $159.00. To RSVP for the Friday reception or the Saturday luncheon, or to book table reservations for the Saturday evening banquet, please contact Assembly SFRC Chair Carol Norigian at southflaaa@gmail.com.