MISSION HILLS: The Ararat Home Annual Picnic on Sunday, September 23, 2012 was a great success. Chairman of the event, Mike Surmeian, said, “As usual, it was a total team effort.” Mike and committee members, William Kevorkian, Galen Petoyan, Shant Dergazarian, Richard Jebejian, Maggie Goshen and Luke Surmeian all did their part as well as an additional 150 volunteers who filled positions on the day of the picnic. While the Los Angeles Chapter of the Triple X Fraternity and the Los Angeles Jr. Triple X did the lion’s share of the food ordering, prep and serving, don’t forget the ladies of the Ararat Home Auxiliary and the Guilds who prepared and sold the much sought after baked goods and desserts… always with a smile.

The day was warm, but that didn’t keep the Najarian Ensemble from playing wonderful music in the courtyard to the delight of those who couldn’t bear to sit still and took the opportunity to get up and dance. The Ara Dance Group, in full costume, was thrilling to see; such attractive young people putting their all into their art. Wonderful! Members of Knights of Vartan Sevan Lodge manned the shuttle vans all day so no one had a long walk to and from the additional parking lots down the hill.

There appeared to be more children, tweens and teens present and serving in important capacities this year. Might that have something to do with teenager Luke Surmeian being on the committee? From the parking lots to the carnival booths to the serving lines, fresh young faces were taking on responsibility. Happy to see it, and hopefully, it’s a trend.

Certainly, many thanks go to the individuals and organizations, which underwrite and sponsor the picnic each year with monetarily and with product and service donations. It would be much less profitable to hold the picnic without them. And, while the picnic is a great opportunity to eat delicious shish kebab, to win fabulous raffle prizes and to get together and enjoy seeing dear old friends and making new ones, the Home benefits greatly from every penny earned.

Chairman Mike wanted to be sure to mention several key employees of the Home who help in most valuable ways: all the wonderful kitchen staff, Suren from Maintenance, Derik Ghookasian, Contoller and especially Beatrice Malkhasian who works diligently for the picnic “before, during and after.”

6 YEARS OF ZERO DEFICIENCY!

Mission Hills, CA: “Doing the right things every day Equals Survey Success!!” These words, spoken by Ararat Home’s Assisted Living Facility Administrator, Rita Noravian, convey the pride and commitment of her exceptional staff which assures a safe, comfortable experience for residents of Ararat Home. A “Zero Deficiency” rating given by the State of California requires attention to every imaginable detail of resident care, medication management , staffing, the physical plant, interviews of residents… all go into the rating process. Would our own homes receive zero deficiencies? While we might squirm at the thought of being so rigorously examined, isn’t it encouraging to those who entrust their loved ones to Ararat Home that the Ararat team is so diligent? All of us in the greater Armenian Community echo the response of Ararat Home Board Chairman, Nazar Ashjian Jr. who said, “What a wonderful job. You make us all very proud. Please thank all of your staff and associates for a wonderful example.”

By Cindy Kaloostian