Watertown, MA – The Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region will be honoring Baroness Caroline Cox with its highest honor, the prestigious Freedom Award, at the 6th Annual ANCA Eastern Region Banquet on Saturday, December 1, 2012 at the Sheraton Crossroads in Mahwah, New Jersey.

The banquet will begin with an elegant cocktail reception and silent auction at 6:30 pm, followed by dinner and awards ceremony at 8:00 pm.

“We are proud to be honoring Baroness Caroline Cox for her decades-long support of the people of Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia” commented ANCA Eastern Region Board chairperson George Aghjayan. The Freedom Award is presented to an individual who has made outstanding contributions toward the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and who has pursued other issues of importance to the Armenian American community.

Since 2007, the ANCA Freedom Award has been presented to former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John M. Evans, Pulitzer Prize winning author Dr. Samantha Power, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, the late U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, former U.S. Senator Robert Dole, and former U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole.

Hundreds of Armenian Americans throughout the Eastern Region of the U.S. will once again gather to celebrate the achievements of the ANCA Eastern Region and to honor those who have advanced the Armenian cause. This year, the ANCA Eastern Region will present the Freedom Award to Baroness Caroline Cox for her outstanding contributions to humanitarian projects in Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia.

Baroness Cox has visited Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh 75 times, many of them during the bitter war with Azerbaijan in the early 1990’s. Lady Cox now works with the Stepanakert-based not-for-profit organization HART (Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust) to support a program providing rehabilitation for people of all ages.

The center is internationally recognized as a “Center of Excellence,” disseminating its wide-ranging therapeutic repertoire far beyond Karabakh to other countries throughout the South Caucasus. “The spirit of Armenia, which not only survives but creates beauty from the ashes of destruction, is spreading hope and healing for people with special needs not only in Karabakh and Armenia but far beyond these lands” stated Lady Cox.

Baroness Caroline Cox of Queensbury was a deputy speaker of the House of Lords from 1985 to 2005. She was Founder Chancellor of Bournemouth University between 1991 and 2001, and is currently Chancellor of Liverpool
Hope University and a Vice President of the Royal College of Nursing. She was also a founder Trustee of MERLIN [Medical Emergency Relief International].

Lady Cox has been honored with the Commander Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland; the Wilberforce Award; the International Mother Teresa Award from the All India Christian Council; the Mkhitar Gosh Medal conferred by the President of the Republic of Armenia; and the anniversary medal presented by Lech Walesa, the former President of Poland. She has been awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and honorary doctorates by universities in the United Kingdom, the United States, the Russian Federation, and Armenia.

Baroness Cox’s humanitarian aid work has taken her on many missions to conflict zones, including Nagorno Karabakh, Sudan, Nigeria, Uganda, Burma, and Indonesia. She has also been instrumental in helping to change the former Soviet Union’s policies for orphaned and abandoned children from institutional to foster family care.

Banquet co-chairs Karine Shnorhokian and Nicole Alashaian, both active members of the New Jersey Armenian American community and members of the ANC of New Jersey, are working diligently to ensure the success of this annual fundraising event. “This is a fantastic event that truly showcases the activities and support throughout the Eastern Region. We are looking forward to a spectacular turnout to honor Baroness Cox for her many contributions to the people of Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia,” Shnorhokian commented.

In the coming weeks, additional information will be posted at www.anca.org/erbanquet. For more information, please contact Karine Shnorhokian at (201) 788-5425. Hotel accommodations are available by calling 201-529-1660, please be sure to mention ANCA for a rate of $99.

The ANCA Eastern Region Endowment Fund is a 501(c)(3) charitable and educational organization that supports the Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region in outreach to Armenian American communities.