TV anchor Araksya Karapetyan and Burbank City Council member Jess Talamantes will be honored at the annual ANCA-Burbank banquet on May 21, 2017
Annual Banquet to Continue Tradition of Honoring Community Icons of Burbank
BURBANK. Calif.—The Armenian National Committee of America-Burbank (ANCA-Burbank) and its community of supporters will come together on May 21, 2017 at Anoush Banquet Hall to recognize several honorees and support the activities of the ANCA-Burbank.
Among the honorees at this year’s event will be Burbank City Council member Jess Talamantes and TV anchor Araksya Karapetyan. The banquet will be hosted by Master of Ceremonies, Ardy Kassakhian, City Clerk of Glendale and a lifelong Armenia-American activist.
“We feel privileged to honor these exceptional members of our community at our annual banquet and are proud to call them our friends,” said Vicky Marashlian, co-chair of the Banquet committee. “The Armenian American community in Burbank knows Jess and Araksya very well and is familiar with the positive impact they have made. The ANCA-B is thrilled to recognize their efforts on behalf of the community”.
Council member Jess Talamantes to be presented William Saroyan Award for Community Activism.
Jess Talamantes, longtime resident of Burbank, was first elected to City Council in 2009 and served as Centennial Mayor during the Burbank’s Centennial Celebration in 2011. He was recently re-elected by an overwhelming majority. He has had a long career as a Burbank Firefighter and has a wealth of experience in public service.
An active Councilmember, Talamantes serves on several boards and commissions, including as current President of League of California Cities – LA County Division, Chair of San Fernando Valley Council of Governments, as well as member of several committees and task forces in the Southern California Association of Governments.
His dedication to youth programs in the community, is well known and his leadership on the City Council was instrumental in the awarding of the CDBG grant that allowed the Burbank Youth Center to construct a basketball court and multi-purpose room.
Talamantes graduated from John Burroughs High School and attended California State University Los Angeles, where he earned a B.S. in Fire Protection Administration and Technology.
Araksya Karapetyan to be presented Hrant Dink award for Woman of the Year
Araksya Karapetyan has been an anchor on Good Day LA on Fox 11 since March 2012. She has been a reporter and anchor on several TV stations prior to joining FOXLA.
Karapetyan was born in Gyumri, Armenia and experienced the devastating earthquake of 1988 at the age of six. With the additional threat of an Azerbaijani attack and the poor conditions of the Armenian economy, Karapetyan and her family moved to the United States and settled in Southern California.
Karapetyan first became interested in journalism during a summer visit to Armenia, where she decided to interview people from all walks of life and understand the conditions of the country from the point of view of the average person. She continues to tell stories that touch the lives of everyday people.
Karapetyan graduated from S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications with a BA in International Relation and Broadcast Journalism.
Ardy Kassakhian
Glendale City Clerk to M.C. the Banquet
Ardy Kassakhian was first elected as City Clerk in 2005, making him the youngest person ever elected to public office in Glendale. He continues to serve as City Clerk, having won a new four-year term in April. He has previously led the Armenian National Committee of America Western Region and its advocacy program.
Kassakhian holds a degree in history from UCLA and is a candidate for a Masters degree in Public Policy. He was also invited to Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government Senior Executive Program for State and Local Government in 2009 and has also completed the Coro Foundation Executive Fellowship Program.
Kassakhian serves as Secretary of the Glendale Economic Development Corporation, designed to attract new businesses to Glendale and spur job creation.
Tickets can be purchased from www.itsmyseat.com/ANCAB
The Armenian National Committee of America – Burbank advances the social, economic, cultural and political rights of the area’s Armenian community and promotes increased civic participation at the grassroots and public policy levels.
Source: Asbarez
Link: ANCA-Burbank to Honor Community Leaders at Annual Banquet