ROSLYN, NY—On December 4, 2022, the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) “Erebouni” Chapter of New York held its 50th anniversary and second annual Marvelous and Merry Christmas Luncheon at the elegant Hendricks Tavern in Roslyn, New York.
“Erebouni” Chapter chairwoman Victoria Hagobian shared opening remarks, welcomed the guests and recognized honorees and co-founders Gemma Melik Vartanian and Arev Sarkissian.
The NY “Erebouni” Chapter was founded in Queens, New York in 1971. The dialogue about starting an ARS chapter in Queens began at the suggestion of ARS Central Executive member Zabel Serobian, who later became its godmother.
The first meeting was held in February of that year in the home of Araksy Yeghyaian whereby seven executive members were elected. It was established as the first ARS chapter in Queens because of the growing Armenian population in the borough. The name Erebouni was chosen and voted on unanimously because “Erebouni,” the ancient capital of Yerevan, was highly celebrated in Armenia at that time.
Later that year in June of 1971, the chapter organized a tea party at the church hall of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral. Over 100 guests attended; sister organizations sent representatives as well. The chapter was introduced to the community; others were encouraged to join and a swearing-in ceremony was held which cemented the establishment of the Erebouni Chapter.
Initially, chapter meetings were held at members’ homes and other locations, including the Armenian Center in Woodside, Queens. They are now held at St. Sarkis Church in Douglaston, Queens.
To date, the NY Erebouni Chapter has been very active in supporting numerous programs of the ARS. It works in tandem with other chapters when combined efforts are called upon as well as with its sister organizations. There was a time when the chapter took on the important task of providing social services with the NY “Mayr” Chapter. The two ARS chapters undertook extensive social work to assist new immigrants at the Woodside Armenian Center; its members were proactive in serving the community’s needs.
Just over 50 years after its establishment, community members gathered to celebrate the history of this ARS chapter and its dedicated and hardworking members.
Margaret Babikian Medina, chapter liaison from the ARS Eastern Regional Board, welcomed guests and congratulated the “Erebouni” Chapter on this special anniversary. Ungerouhi Margaret stressed the importance of keeping the chapter strong, asking it to continue its fine efforts in providing humanitarian aid to communities locally and globally.
The “Erebouni” Executive Board, along with Ungerouhi Margaret, honored Ungerouhi Arev Sarkissian. She was notably touched as she was presented with flowers, a 50-year service pin and certificate. Ungerouhi Arev proudly served, fundraised and recruited members over the years with her late siblings Ungerouhi Arsho Yessaian and Unger Yervand Sarkissian.
Ungerouhi Gemma Melik Vartanian was also acknowledged at the event. Co-chair Kristine Jamgotchian shared Ungerouhi Gemma’s biography as a founding member of the Erebouni Chapter. Since then, she’s held various roles on the executive board including chairwoman. She also served as a delegate at ARS Regional Conventions and represented the chapter as the ARS liaison at meetings with sister and community organizations. Ungerouhi Gemma also led the “Erebouni” Chapter Committee along with the New York “Mayr” and Washington Heights Chapters in organizing an extraordinary banquet to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the ARS in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the United Nations. This unique event was attended by community members, sister organizations and high-level UN representatives. It served to strengthen the ties between the two organizations who often shared many of the same goals. Ungerouhi Gemma was honored to receive her 50th year pin and certificate by her daughter Ungerouhi Sandra last summer.
The ARS “Erebouni” Chapter also acknowledged members with 25 years of service. The proud recipients were Susan Azarian, Sandra Melik Vartanian, Ani Tervizian-Papaioannou, Nayda Voskerijian and Yeran Atakhanian. Ungerouhi Yeran was presented with the 25-year service pin and certificate for her late mother Ungerouhi Noemi Megerian.
The beautiful afternoon ended with the cutting of the cake and the announcement of raffle prize winners, as well as a beautiful Michael Aram door prize. Gratitude was extended to all those who attended and contributed to a lovely afternoon in support of the ARS “Erebouni” Chapter. The chapter was pleased to have raised five thousand dollars from this event, which will be equally distributed between ARS Solar Artskah, a solar water heater program for Artsakh residents and Syrian Armenian Relief for Armenian victims in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake.
Congratulations to the “Erebouni” Chapter for 50 years of humanitarian service!
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