PRESS RELEASE
Date: July 21, 2009
Armenian National Committee of America
Eastern Region
122 W 27th St, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Contact: Raffi Karakashian
Tel: 917-428-1918
Email: [email protected]
ANCA EASTERN REGION FRESHMAN OUTREACH CAMPAIGN
FOCUSES ON REPS. KOSMAS AND SCHOCK
WASHINGTON, DC – Armenian National Committee of America Eastern
Region Interim Executive Director Raffi Karakashian and Florida ANC
activist Taleen Mekhdjavakian reached out to freshmen
Representatives Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL) and Aaron Schock (R-IL)
recently to rally support for Armenian Genocide legislation and
discuss a range of interests to the Armenian American community.
Mekhdjavakian, an Orlando, Florida resident, in the nation’s
capital as part of the ANCA Leo Sarkisian Internship program, urged
Rep. Kosmas to cosponsor H.Res.252, the Armenian Genocide
resolution, citing the growing number of freshman Representatives
supporting the measure. Rep. Kosmas serves on the Financial
Services and Science and Technology committees.
Karakashian and Mekhdjavakian then briefly met with Rep. Aaron
Schock of Peoria, Illinois, noting that his predecessor, Ray
LaHood, who currently serves as Secretary of Transportation, had
cosponsored the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H. Res. 106, during
the 110th Congress. Rep. Schock, the youngest Member of Congress,
currently serves on three House committees – Transportation and
Infrastructure, Small Business, and Oversight and Government
Reform.
The meetings were part of an expanding ANCA Eastern Region campaign
to educate freshmen Representatives on issues of concern to the
Armenian American community. Over the past several months, ANCA
representatives in Washington, DC and east of the Mississippi, have
been holding meetings in support of Armenian Genocide legislation,
expanded foreign assistance to Armenia and self-determination for
Nagorno Karabagh among other local ANC initiatives.
The Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region (ANCA ER)
is part of the largest and most influential Armenian American
grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a
network of offices, chapters and supporters throughout the United
States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA ER
actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community
on a broad range of issues.
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Photo Captions: Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL) with ANCA Leo Sarkisian
intern and constituent Taleen Mekhdjavakian.
Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) with ANCA Eastern Region Interim Executive
Director Raffi Karakashian.