NEW YORK—U.S. Representative Grace Meng (D-NY) will be honored with the prestigious Freedom Award at this year’s Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region (ANCA-ER) 18th Annual Gala on October 19, 2024. Representative Meng will be joined at the gala by hundreds of Armenian activists and supporters to celebrate the achievements of the ANCA-ER in championing the Armenian Cause. The gala will include an open bar cocktail reception, curated silent auction with one-of-a-kind items from the homeland, and awards program accompanied by a seated dinner.

Presented annually, the ANCA Eastern Region Freedom Award is the highest honor presented to individuals who, in recognition of their continued courage, determination and justice for the Armenian Cause receive the award.

Representative Meng’s long term dedication and commitment to her Armenian-American constituency makes her a worthy recipient for this honor. She will join a long list of previous notable honorees including Dr. Taner Akçam; Representative Brenda Lawrence (D-MI); Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA); former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John M. Evans; former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power; U.S. Senators Robert Dole and Elizabeth Dole; Baroness Caroline Cox; and renowned lawyer Robert Morgenthau and the Morgenthau family.

Representing New York’s 6th district, a historic hub for Armenians in the New York area, Representative Meng’s district is home to the Armenian Church of the Holy Martyrs and a large bustling Armenian-American community spread throughout the district, most notably in Bayside, Flushing, Murray Hill and Elmhurst. Elected in 2013, Representative Meng is serving her sixth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. She sits on the House Appropriations Committee, the State and Foreign Operations subcommittee and the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies subcommittee.

Representative Meng was instrumental in bringing an Armenian American family home to New York during the Artsakh blockade. When Azerbaijan closed the sole road linking Artsakh with Armenia on December 12, 2022, Lusine Akopyan and her then three-year-old son Andranik, who were visiting family for Christmas, were trapped alongside over 100,000 residents of Artsakh. Meng’s office worked with the U.S. State Department and the ANCA to evacuate the Akopyans, who were eventually transported to Armenia by the International Committee of the Red Cross on Januar

y 26, 2023. They landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens the next day.

“This family lives in Queens in Rego Park in the heart of my district. It’s our primary job to help constituents with these types of cases,” Representative Meng told the Weekly. “When we heard this is a local real-life family that has been affected by the blockade, we wanted to make sure we did whatever we could to make sure she and her son are safe and were able to come back home to New York.”

Representative Meng joined over 60 U.S. Representatives in supporting a congressional resolution (H.Res.108) to condemn the blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan. The resolution called for international investigations into Azerbaijani war crimes, suspension of U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan and sanctions against Azerbaijani officials, among other measures.  She has also supported H.R. 7288, or the Armenian Protection Act, which calls for a cessation of security assistance to Azerbaijan for two years. Additionally, she has supported the passage of the Armenian Genocide Education Act (H.R.2803).

“Placing trust in our representatives to serve the interests of their constituents can be challenging at times,” says Nareh Aseyan, a former ANCA Leo Sarkisian Intern, “but having been a constituent of Grace Meng’s for over five years, I can say that having trust in our elected officials is not an issue for me. Representative Meng has been a staunch advocate for Armenia and Artsakh and has represented her constituents with their best interests at heart. She has repeatedly called for sanctions against Azerbaijan amidst its gross human rights violations and has supported

Artsakh’s right to self-determination. It brings me great joy to honor and recognize her continued efforts at this year’s Gala. I look forward to celebrating the region’s accomplishments and recognizing our deserving Representative at the Gala this October.”

The 18th Annual Gala will be held on Saturday, October 19, 2024, in Queens, New York at the Terrace on the Park (52-11 111th Street, Queens, New York). For more information about this year’s gala, email ergala@anca.org or visit givergy.us/ancaer2024.