LAS VEGAS – On October 3rd, Consul General of Armenia in Los Angeles Ambassador Armen Baibourtian along with his wife Yvette Baibourtian, took part in the event dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the independence of Armenia. The event was organized by the Honorary Consul of Armenia in Las Vegas Adroushan Andy Armenian, under the auspices of the Consulate General of Armenia in Los Angeles. The event took place in Arturo Rando Hall at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The anniversary celebration had a cultural program entitled “Our Youth, Our Future”, organized by the Armenian Student Association of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
During the event, US Congresswoman from Nevada Susie Lee gave a speech reaffirming her continued support for the Armenian community of Las Vegas.
Consul General in LA Ambassador Armen Baibourtian expressed his appreciation to the Honorary Consul of Armenia Adroushan Andy Armenian and the Armenian Student Association of UNLV for organizing the event. Ambassador Baibourtian emphasized the importance of the presence of the Primate, His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian and the Prelate, His Grace Bishop Torkom Donoyan at the event dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Armenia’s independence.
In his speech, the Consul General spoke about the renowned Armenian-American philanthropist Kirk Kerkorian as a national hero of the Republic of Armenia. He mentioned that Kerkorian made Las Vegas globally recognizable to all Armenians, having an invaluable role in supporting the ancestral Homeland.
Ambassador Baibourtian also highly appreciated the role of the Yemenidjian family living in Las Vegas. They recently donated $10 million dollars with the aim to open TUMO centers in the provinces of Armenia. The program, which will cost a total of $50 million dollars, envisages opening Tumo centers in Vanadzor, Kapan, Koghb and in various other cities. Tumo creative technology center is foreseen as a free educational facility for teenagers and youth, specializing in design and technology. Ambassador Armen Baibourtian underlined that the mentioned philanthropic family’s valuable contribution constitutes a continuation of the established tradition of benevolence that was initiated and shaped in Las Vegas by Kirk Kerkorian.
The humanitarian assistance of the Las Vegas Armenian community to the Homeland during the 44-day war in Artsakh was also highlighted.
