Over 100 Homenetmen Glendale "Ararat" Chapter members, longtime supporters and several distinguished civic and community leaders, friends and guests joined the Homenetmen "Ararat" Executive Board, on the pristine evening of Thursday, September the 1st, 2011 at the rooftop lounge of the much-heralded Glendale Hilton Hotel, which offered guests a breathtaking, 360-degree view of City of Glendale, the San Gabriel Mountains, and Downtown LA and beyond, to attend a very special "Ararat 33 - A Celebration of Our Journey" Gala Banquet Kick-Off Reception. The aim of this special event was to orient guests on developments related to the much anticipated "Ararat 33 - A Celebration of Our Journey" Gala Banquet which will take place Saturday, October 22 at the Glendale Civic Auditorium. Attending guests were welcomed into a warm and joyous atmosphere, during which they were treated to a lavish Champaign and Hors d'oeuvres reception, which was graciously hosted and sponsored by the Glendale Hilton.  

The 5th Pan Armenian Games were held in Yerevan, Armenia from August 13th through the 21st, 2011. Homenetmen Glendale Ararat Chapter delegates, representing the City of the Glendale, participated in men's basketball (2 teams), women's basketball, soccer, women's volleyball, table tennis, tennis, women's track & field and chess competitions. A total of 84 athletes, coaches and leaders arrived in Yerevan just before the opening ceremony. This year, the games had a record participation with over 3,200 athletes representing 125 cities to compete in 10 different sports. Overall, our athletes were able to capture 2 silver medals in women's basketball and women's shot put and 1 bronze medal in men's basketball. All of our participants were very thankful for having this opportunity to visit their homeland, specially the first time travelers. Everyone came back with many unforgettable memories.

Some of the highlights of the trip included, the awesome opening ceremony, meeting our president "Serzh Sargisyan" during a dinner dance, seeing the Tzitzernakabert Monument with all the participants, sightseeing of historical places in Yerevan, and many other organized gatherings. Among the most unforgettable moments were receiving individual bronze medals from our president by men's basketball team. As in our previous trips, Homenetmen Ararat Chapter made contributions to school #158 by renovating the gym floor and presenting a gift of sports gear and equipment for students participating in soccer, volleyball, basketball, table tennis and gymnastics activities. On August 12th the Glendale delegation made a visit to this school, where they met the principal, the staff, and students. Ararat athletes then presented the new sports equipment and went on to play games with the students. This event and the unforgettable joy of the children will be etched in everyone's mind. Our chapter is proud to be able to organize such a challenging venture, including many successful fundraising events to help our athletes and facilitate their trip to visit our homeland. Our athletes represented Ararat Chapter and the Glendale community in the best possible way, throughout the trip.

e-News asked Roubik Gourjian, this year's Homenetmen Exemplary Member, about the beginnings  of Ararat Chapter and what he thinks about Ararat's future. 

For our Scouting Division, the month of August always brings about feelings of anticipation and happiness. August is time for the annual camp, Entanoor Banakoom. This year was the 28th annual camp, it was held on August 7through13, and approximately 210 scouts attended. The camp is one week long for Boy and Girl Scouts and four days for the Cubs and Brownies.

Entanoor Banakoom is full of activities like educational lectures, a carnival, a rally, a dance, archery, rock-climbing, canoeing, rifle shooting, shotgun shooting, and much more. The week's schedule is packed with many activities that the scouts know and love camp for, but to really understand what the hype is all about, you have to get a taste of the memories and relationships that are made. To get a quick glimpse of that through our newsletter, we can look at just a few of the activities.

Camp games bring out everybody's competitive edge and group spirit. It is where the youngest scout in the troop scores the majority of the winning shots in Dodge Ball and is the star of the week and where the group with the least people takes the Toopalabi title and shocks everyone. At camp, it isn't just another Water Polo game, it is rather what gets rid of all notions of tiredness in you, makes you cheer until your voice disappears (and then cheer some more), and makes your heart beat out of your chest when you score or win.

Campfire is the heart of camp. Campfire is where Areni makes you cry from laughter, Arick's accordion is more important than the fire, and the phrase "allelleh chica tonga" becomes a permanent part of your dictionary. At the end of the day, full off of dinner, the scouts sit facing the stage and get to share funny things that have happened all week and express their creativity through skits. During campfire, you sit with your brothers and sisters, swaying side-to-side, singing the Armenian songs that you love to sing but seldom have the chance to.

Bahag (night guard) is what glooms over the end of every night, where you find out whether you got the "good" shift, or the darkest "graveyard" shift. Barad (tent inspection) is where you learn the inexplicable distances dirt can travel and that you can stand quiet and still for longer than you ever thought possible. And Cardiac Hill (the hill to the cafeteria) is at the exact incline to wipe you clear out of breath but still let you get through alive.

Entanoor Banakoom is where you didn't know you'd make many of your greatest memories, learn life lessons, and gain a bigger family than you thought one could have. Camp is a whirlwind of emotions and a unique incredible experience for each scout. We hope this quick glance gave you a tiny taste of the real thing.

Ararat's Big Birthday Bash!

October 1, 2011

Come celebrate in a fun new way.

Kids and Parents have been working hard Preparing for the big day.

Recycled Art , DJ and Food

The HABC tournament is one of the many tournaments Ararat hosts for its' athletes. This year, the 10th annual HABC tournament will start on October 2nd and last for about a month until November 13th. The participants range from G Division all the way to D Division. These divisions include athletes from the age of 6 to about 14 years old. Over the past few years, the HABC games have grown to become one of the most favored tournaments that occur over the course of the year for Homenetmen athletes. These games were created in order to cater to the teams who weren't old enough to participate in Homenetmen's Winter games which occur during the same month that the HABC games do. The HABC games take place and are run entirely by Ararat Chapter. This year we are anticipating the participation of approximately 40 teams, including a few that are not from the Homenetmen Organization. Every year, the HABC tournament turns out to be a great success for the athletes involved, for Ararat, and for the entire Homenetmen Organization as a whole.