Inaugural ANCA-WR Meet and Greet a Big Success

asbarez
Thursday, June 9th, 2011

ANCA-WR Board members fland Assemblymembers Achadjian and Portantino

GLENDALE – California State Assemblymembers Anthony Portantino and
Katcho Achadjian were welcomed by a full house at the inaugural
Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR) Meet
and Greet at Phoenicia restaurant in Glendale yesterday evening.

The two representatives had flown down from Sacramento just for the
event in an opportunity for them to meet members of the community and
talk to them about the important issues California was facing today.
Both representatives were on a plane back to the state capital after
the event.

Attendees of the first Meet and Greet filled the room to capacity,
enjoying their food and drink and socializing until the program
started.

`It’s never easy to know how a first-time event will go but with the
popularity of Assemblyman Portantino in our community and with the
addition of Armenian American Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian, I was not
surprised that our event was a huge success,’ said ANCA-WR Board
Member and lead organizer for the event, Pattyl Aposhian.

`What we learned was that there is a high demand for events like this
where members of our community come and meet their elected
representatives and leaders while also networking and socializing with
each other,’ Aposhian concluded.

After a short introduction by ANCA-WR staff, Portantino, who is in his
last term, took center stage to discuss the work that he had done as
an Assemblyman in Sacramento. A recurring theme throughout the night
was the state budget and what legislators, along with Governor Jerry
Brown, were doing to make sure that a deal is reached in the near
future.

Although the two representatives come from different political
parties, Portantino being a Democrat and Achadjian a Republican, they
both emphasized the importance of working across party lines to do
what is best for California. In a more lighthearted moment,
Portantinto quipped that, `it was the Armenian community that finally
brought Democrats and Republicans together.’

Both Portantino and Achadjian expressed their thanks and gratitude to
the ANCA-WR for being a leader and a voice for the Armenian American
community and for their initiative in putting the Meet and Greet
series together.

The Meet and Greet series is based on a program started by the
Armenian National Committee of Glendale, a local chapter of the
ANCA-WR, where citizens were given the opportunity to hear and
question local leaders on issues of concern to them.

The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the
largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy
organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination
with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the
Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country,
the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community
on a broad range of issues.