Long time community activist and public servant Hacop Baghdassarian will receive the Legacy Award at the 2011 Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region Annual Banquet for his decades of service to the Armenian American community and dedication to the Armenian Cause.

Hacop M. Baghdassarian was born in Tehran, Iran on March 30, 1948 to Petros and Marous Malek Baghdassarian. He attended Kooshesh Armenian School in Tehran until the age of fifteen when his father Petros unexpectedly died from a heart attack. Baghdassarian cut short his educational aspirations to attend to his father’s paint supply business. He maintained his father’s reputation as a fair and honest entrepreneur and was sought out by young Armenians arriving in Tehran looking for work.

In 1973, he married Hilda Voskanian and later had two sons, Peter and Gevik. In 1979, leaving behind the turmoil of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Baghdassarian and his family immigrated to the United States.

In Los Angeles, Baghdassarian followed his entrepreneurial inclination and opened the first of four restaurants named “Massis Kabob” in Glendale.

Currently, Baghdassarian serves on the board of the Armenian Education Foundation and works with several Armenian charities including Homenetmen, Armenian Relief Society, and the Armenian Eye Care Project, among a number of other community organizations.

“Hacop Baghdassarian is a shining example of a dedicated public servant, who has given so generously of his time and energy to the Armenian community through his participation in many organizations. He has instilled those same values in his children and grandchildren, who will certainly carry on his legacy throughout the years,” said ANCA-WR Board member Pattyl Aposhian-Kasparian.

The Annual Banquet will take place at the Universal Sheraton Hotel on Saturday, November 26.