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63rd ACYO-WD Convention

Posted on: 2011-11-29 by Carmen Kestekyan

Over 40 ACYO members along with Hovnan Surpazan, Fr. Avedis Abovian and clergy members throughout the Western Diocese gathered in Burbank on November 25-27 for the 63^rd annual ACYO convention.  The Western Diocese headquarters was the epicenter of a weekend filled with informational meetings, social events, and celebrations of another successful year.

Friday evening started off with business session 1 in Zorayan Museum with a welcoming remark by Surpazan Hovnan Derderian.  A short review of Robert’s Rules was given to the delegation so that the meetings were kept in order without chaos!  The session included reports from various ACYO chapters about their eventful years as well as organizations such as CYMA and their trip to Armenia.  This year, we were very excited to hear reports from Seattle, Portland, La Cresenta, and Ventura County ACYO members who participated in Convention for the first time!   Fr. Avedis Abovian, ACYO Youth Director, concluded the session by giving his report of the year.  Later on that evening, ACYO members enjoyed a fun game of Quiz Bowl.  A handful of teams participated in the second annual Quiz Bowl tournament.  The host, Vicken Kalamkarian, challenged the contestants with difficult Armenian history, Bible, and Church questions!  In the end, Burbank ACYO kept their winning title for a second year in a row!  The celebration continued throughout the night with dancing and three 36’’ pizzas, which were finished by the end of the night. 

Delegates enjoyed a hearty breakfast on Saturday morning knowing that it would be a long day ahead of them.  Business session 2 included a by-law amendment: the possibility of changing the weekend of ACYO Convention.  After much discussion, the delegation voted on keeping Convention as it has been for 63 years, on Thanksgiving weekend.  Next order of business on the agenda was nominations for Central Council, Nominating Committee, and Auditing Committee.  Names were nominated from the floor and written on ballots to elect new members of each committee.  Excitement built in the room as ballots were collected. 

After a quick recess for lunch, business session 3 started off with a bang as newly elected members were announced.  The results were as follows:

Auditing Committee: Elizabeth Olgun, David Semerdjian, David Ojakian

Nominating Committee: Shant Barin, Serop Sayadian, Arman Kalamkarian

This year, there were three members from Central Council rerunning and one person leaving.  A total of six members were running for these four positions.  Incumbents Nora Barin, Mark Boranian, and Vicken Kalamkarian were reelected as well as the newest member of the Council Arpi Nakashian.  However, Surpazan Hovnan Derderian decided to overrule the voting process and added two more positions to Central Council making it a nine person group.  Natalie Kazarian and Gegham Mughnetsyan were given a one-two year terms as part of this acceptation, which Surpazan made.  Business session 3 ended with closing remarks from Surpazan as well as Chairman Raffi Postaldjian and their appreciation of the youth and council members.  Fr. Avedis Abovian was also recognized for his countless hours of work for the youth. 

The banquet on Saturday night was a celebratory event!  Tables were filled with a variety of mezze especially prepared by the Burbank ACYO parents.  The night was also filled with many award recipients as well as the introduction of the new Central Council.  Fr. Avedis awarded Tigran Khachikyan the Archbishop’s Award for his exceptional essay on “What Makes You Christian”.  Fr. Avedis also mentioned that Surpazan Hovnan Derderian decided to give $250 to each person who had submitted an essay for the contest.  ACYO Member Recognition Awards were given out to Arpi Nakashian, Mark Samoulian, and Shant Barin for their dedication to their particular chapters.  This year, Central Council decided to bring back the Chapter Achievement Award by recognizing a chapter that has gone above and beyond their call of duty to help their community and incorporates the four pillars of the ACYO in their activities.  The recipient of this award was St. Apkar, Arizona ACYO.  The new Central Council members were also announced as follows:

Chairman-Vicken Kalamkarian

Vice Chair-Nora Barin

Treasurer-Mark Boranian

Rec. Secretary- Natalie Kazarian

Corresponding Secretary- Gegham Mughnetsyan

Publicity-Carmen Kestekyan

Event Coordinator-Arpi Nakashian

Advisors-Liana Grigorians and Raffi Postaljian

On Sunday, ACYO members attended badarak at St. Leon Cathedral.  During services, the new Central Council members were inducted and blessed by Surpazan Hovnan Derderian in a small ceremony.  Overall, the weekend was a huge success and none of it would have been possible without the help of Fr. Avedis Abovian and all his guidance.  Thank you to all that participated and helped to make this a memorable weekend.  We hope to see you at the 64^th Annual ACYO-WD Convention next year in Fowler!