Morgenthau family to receive ANCA Freedom Award

PanARMENIAN.Net - In honor of United States' heroic humanitarian efforts to assist survivors of the Armenian Genocide, Near East Foundation Chairman Shant Mardirossian will be presenting the Freedom Award to Robert Morgenthau and the Morgenthau family, at the 8th Annual ANCA Eastern Region Banquet to be held on Dec 7 in New York.

"As we approach the Armenian Genocide centennial, Mardirossian’s participation in honoring the efforts of the Morgenthau family is a tribute to the unprecedented U.S. humanitarian assistance campaign which saved at least one million men, women and children from certain perish," said ANCA Eastern Region Board Member James Sahagian. "Under Mardirossian and the Near East Foundation Board of Directors capable leadership, their mission to build more sustainable, prosperous, and inclusive communities in the Middle East and Africa continues to this day."

Mardirossian has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Near East Foundation since 2002 and its Chair since 2007. He is a Partner and the Chief Operating Officer of Kohlberg & Company, a middle-market private-equity firm, and serves on the board of directors for several companies controlled by Kohlberg & Co. Mardirossian was born in Lebanon and immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1969. He received a B.B.A. and an M.B.A. from the Lubin School of Business at Pace University.

At its Annual Gala on Nov 2, 2014 the ANCA Western Region (ANCA-WR) recognized the humanitarian spirit of Near East Foundation leaders Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, Cleveland H. Dodge, and Jackie Coogan, who embarked on one of the greatest international humanitarian efforts launched in the history of the American people. Mardirossian, along with other NEF representatives, joined the ANCA-WR leadership on stage to accept the award with an overflow audience of over 1,000 greeting them with a standing ovation.

“For most, the story of the Near East Relief is largely unknown, but thanks to the ANCA and the many dedicated individuals and historians around the world that is about to change,” said Mardirossian in his acceptance speech on behalf of the Near East Foundation.