Varouj Koundakjian
LOS ANGELES—The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR) announced Thursday that it will bestow the 2016 Legacy Award posthumously to humanitarian, philanthropist, and community leader Varoujan Koundakjian. Koundakjian’s family will personally accept the award at the Gala Banquet to be held on Sunday, October 16 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.
“While planning for our Annual Gala Banquet, we began the process of selecting this year’s awards recipients. Shortly after unanimously deciding to honor long-time community activist and philanthropist Varoujan Koundakjian with the 2016 ANCA-WR Legacy Award, we learned that our dear Varoujan was ill and in the hospital. Hoping for a speedy recovery, we decided to wait until he went home to inform him of our decision. Tragically, Varoujan did not survive that hospitalization, and our community lost one of its most passionate advocates of the Armenian Cause. Varoujan spent a lifetime devoting his time, money, and talent to all things Armenian, first as a pillar of the Armenian-American Diaspora communities here in Los Angeles and South Bay, and then as a concerned citizen of Armenia, using all resources available to him to propel the Armenian Nation forward. His family’s loss is our collective loss, and we will miss him greatly as we continue his legacy and his lifelong mission in service to our People,â€
