ANCA-ER FRESHMAN OUTREACH CAMPAIGN FOCUSES ON REPS. KOSMAS AND SCHOCK

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August 2, 2009

WASHINGTON-Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Eastern Region
interim executive director Raffi Karakashian and Florida ANC activist
Taleen Mekhdjavakian reached out to freshmen Representatives Suzanne
Kosmas (D-Fla.) and Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) recently to rally support
for Armenian Genocide legislation and discuss a range of interests
to the Armenian American community.

Mekhdjavakian, an Orlando resident in Washington as part of the ANCA
Leo Sarkisian Internship program, urged Kosmas to co-sponsor H.Res.252,
the Armenian Genocide Resolution, citing the growing number of freshman
Representatives supporting the measure. Kosmas serves on the Financial
Services and Science and Technology committees.

Karakashian and Mekhdjavakian then briefly met with Schock of Peoria,
Ill., noting that his predecessor, Ray LaHood, who currently serves as
Secretary of Transportation, had co-sponsored the Armenian Genocide
Resolution, H.Res.106, during the 110th Congress. 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-ER campaign to educate
freshmen Representatives on issues of concern to the Armenian American
community. Over the past several months, ANCA representatives in
Washington 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 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.