Pride of Heritage Banquet Photo Highlights
To view or purchase photos of the Pride of Heritage Banquet
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2009 - 2010 House of Lebanon
Events
2009
November/December - TBD HOL Young Professionals Charity Event at Isaiah House
Friday, December 11th
HOL Social Holiday Dinner
Location - TBD
8:00 PM
2010
Friday, February 12th
HOL Social Valentine's Dinner
Location - TBD
8:00 PM
Friday, April 16th
HOL Social Dinner
Location - TBD
8:00 PM
Monday, May 24th
3rd Annual House of Lebanon
Golf Classic
Braemar Country Club
Tarzana, CA
9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Sunday, June 6th
Annual House of Lebanon
Picnic
Location - TBD
12 noon - 6:00 PM
Friday, September 17th
HOL Social Dinner
Location - TBD
8:00 PM
October
Pride of Heritage Banquet
Friday, December 10th
HOL Social Holiday Dinner
Location - TBD
8:00 PM
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HOL Artists' Exhibitions & Performances
Kinda Hibrawi
" Dear Mr. Gibran"
Art Exhibition Inspired by the Poetry of Khalil Gibran.
November 14, 2009
7 - 10 PM
Chiarini Gallery
1002 West Third Street
Santa Monica, CA 92703
Dalah Faytrouni and Reem Hammad
Colors of The Arab
World
Art Exhibition June 11-Nov 12, 2009
Friends Gallery, (213)
489-1900 x 120
634 S. Spring St. Los Angeles, 3rd Floor
Downtown LA Artwalk is
July 9th, 6:30 -8:30 pm
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Dear Friends of the House of Lebanon,
We laughed, danced, talked with old friends and made new friends. The 2009 Pride of Heritage banquet is now a memory, but we will take the energy and momentum of the evening and channel it to make Mr. Manoukian's commitment to build a House of Lebanon come true!
This month we are introducing you to our Board of Director members Judge James Kaddo and Dr. Said Beydoun. We hope you find their background as interesting as we do. In addition, we are introducing a member of the Young Professional Group, Dr. Hisham Hamadeh. Hisham is a new member to a dynamic group of young Lebanese Americans.
If you have any information you would like us to share with the House of Lebanon community, please email us at editor@HouseofLebanon.com.
Best Wishes from Our House to Yours,
Karen Srour
LAF Executive Director
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Pride of Heritage Banquet Highlights
About 500 guests
celebrated their cultural pride of heritage on October 18th at the annual House of Lebanon "Pride of Heritage" Banquet at theBeverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. In attendance were H.E. Ambassador of Lebanon to the United
States Mr. Antoine
Chedid, the Consul General
of Lebanon H.E. Mr. Houssam Diab, and many other State and
County officials and dignitaries.
Traditionally,
the Pride of Heritage banquet honors an individual who best exemplifies
those qualities that have distinguished Lebanese Americans -
love of family and country, generosity of spirit, dedication to the community, excellence
in business or profession, and supportive for the mission and purposes of
the Lebanese American Foundation. This year's recipient was the
international businessman and philanthropist, Mr. Vatche Manoukian.
Dr. Ray Irani, the Chairman of the Board of
Trustees of the Lebanese American Foundation, presented the Pride of Heritage
Award to Mr. Vatche Manoukian and informed the guests of his friendship and
admirationof Mr. Manoukian. Dr. Irani announced that Mr. Manoukian is
pledging a $500,000 donation to the House of Lebanon. Together, they
vowed to continue their commitment to build a
proud home for the House of Lebanon. Mr. Manoukian, on accepting the Pride
of Heritage Award, told the audience of his pride of his Lebanese heritage
and of his cherished early memories of Lebanon.
The entertainment was simply superb. The UCSB Middle East Ensemble
and Dancers performed throughout the evening Arabic and Armenian songs and
dances with unbelievable rhythm and melody. The ensemble is under the
leadership of Dr. Scott Marcos, consists of about 40, mostly American,
musicians and dancers. The Ensemble performed with remarkable accuracy though
most do not speak Arabic or Armenian. To learn more about the UCSB Middle East
Ensemble and Dancer's please visit their website at: http://www.music.ucsb.edu/mee/aboutmee.html
The king of comedy on
U.S. television, Jay
Leno gave us a command performance, with 45 minutes of
uninterrupted comedy, laughter, and fun. He ended his performance by
reminiscing about how he grew up close to
the Lebanese community and his affinity for Lebanese people, food,
and culture.
A special
thanks to Rachid and Angele Eletel for chairing the event, the Banquet
Committee, and our Executive Director Karen Srour for working very hard to make
this year's banquet the best ever. In fact we had the highest attendance of any
Pride of Heritage Banquet in our ten year history.
Honored Guests & Board members with Jay Leno
From L to R: Rachid Eletel,
LAF CFO; Judge James Kaddo, LAF Executive Director; Entertainer Jay Leno;
Mrs. Barbara Davis; Dr. Ray Irani, LAF Chairman of the Board of Trustees,
and Chairman of Occidental Petroleum; Mr. Vatche Manoukian; Kanan Hamzeh, LAF
President; Dr. Hanna Shammas, LAF Chairman.
Middle East Ensemble, Dancers and House of Lebanon Directors
2009 Board of Directors
with Dr. Ray Irani, Mr. Vatche Manoukian,
Ambassador Antoine Chedid and Consul General Houssam Diab
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House  of Lebanon Director Profile
Judge James A. Kaddo
Judge James A. Kaddo was born in Zgharta, Lebanon and
emigrated to the United States in 1950 to join his family who had left Lebanon
four years earlier. Born Jamal Kaddo
Moawad, his name, like many other Lebanese immigrants, lost something in the
translation.
He began his undergraduate education at the University of
California, Los Angeles, transferred and graduated from UC Berkeley, with a BA
degree in Political Science/International Relations in 1956. As a reward for his educational achievements
he was immediately drafted into the US Army; being from Zgharta it was decided
he was perfectly suited for warfare.
Serving two years on active duty and four years on inactive duty, he was
honorably discharged in 1958.
In 1958, Judge Kaddo entered the University of Southern
California School of Law. In 1959, he
took a leave of absence from his studies and returned to Lebanon to marry Souad
Kaddo and start his family. Returning to
USC, he resumed his law studies and received his Juris Doctor Degree in
1963. Judge Kaddo immediately started
the practice of law, first with partners and later as his own firm until his
appointment as a Judge by Governor George Deukmejian in December 1990.
As a lawyer, Judge Kaddo distinguished himself as a trial
and business lawyer and specialized in real estate developments and
investments. He is however, just as proud of his active involvement in the
American Lebanese community-socially and politically. He was a founder, president or board member of
practically all of the Lebanese and Arab American organizations both locally
and nationally. He was President of the
William Neima Republican Club, President of World Lebanese Cultural Union,
President and Founder of the LA Chapter of the ADC, President and Founding
member of the Arab American Lawyers Association, Board and founding member of the Lebanese American Foundation and Honorary Founding Member of
the Beirut-LA Sister City Program. He
counts the formation of the Lebanese Ladies Cultural Society among his proudest
accomplishments.
A Los Angeles resident, Judge and Mrs. Kaddo have 4
daughters, Emily, Muna, Nadia and Rima.
His most gratifying moments are spent with his five grandchildren.
Since his appointment, Judge Kaddo has been elected to the
LA Superior Court on several occasions and will be due for re-election next
year. He currently sits as a Superior
Court Judge on the LA Superior Court Unlimited Civil Division in Van Nuys,
California.
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House of Lebanon Director Profile
Said R. Beydoun, MD, FAAN
Dr. Said Beydoun is a nationally-recognized neurologist at the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine - Department of Neurology. As a Professor of Neurology and director of the USC Neuromuscular Program at the Leslie Weiner Neurological Care and Research Center, Dr Beydoun has advocated an integrated approach to clinical diagnosis, neurophysiologic testing, and treatment options for patients with neuromuscular diseases.
Dr. Beydoun directs the ACGME-accredited Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship at USC, training two fellows each year. Over the years, Dr Beydoun has trained an array of residents in Neurology and fellows in the field of Electromyography and Neuromuscular Diseases; many of them are now successful neurologists, either in their practice or affiliated with academic institutions. As a principal investigator, Dr. Beydoun has conducted and participated in many research clinical trials. His clinical and research areas of expertise are in the fields of neuropathy, diabetic neuropathies, neuropathic pain and immune-mediated neuromuscular disorders. He has been published in several scientific journals on topics related to neuromuscular diseases and neuropathies.
He is a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and a fellow of the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine. He is a member of the advisory board and the scientific committee of the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of California. He holds board certification by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Neurology, Clinical Neurophysiology, Pain Medicine, and Neuromuscular Medicine.
Dr. Beydoun graduated from the American University of Beirut Medical School in 1980, followed by his residency in Neurology at the University of Miami and fellowship in Neuromuscular Diseases at the University of Southern California. He was recognized as one of America's Top Physicians in 2004 - 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009; and was elected by his peers for inclusion in "Best Doctors in America" for 2007-2008, and 2009-2010. He was recently featured in the Los Angeles Times Magazine, October 2009 issue, professionally recognized in the List of Top Doctors in Southern California.
Dr. Beydoun resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife Farah Rola; they have two children Rashid and Lana, who both graduated from USC. At the Viterbi School of Engineering, Rashid did his undergraduate studies in Mechanical Engineering, and then obtained a master degree in Aerospace Engineering; and Lana got her degree from the Marshall School of Business Administration. Keeping with Trojans spirit, all the family is a great fan of the USC Football team.
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HOL Young Professional Spotlight
Hisham Hamadeh PhD DABT
Toxicologist
Hisham K. Hamadeh was born and raised in Lebanon.
He obtained a Bachelors of Science in Physics from the American
University of Beirut (AUB) and a PhD
in Toxicology from the University
of California, Irvine
(UCI) for the study of arsenic toxicity. Hisham worked for several years at the
National Institutes of Health (NIH) where he was involved in various studies to
better understand the molecular mechanisms associated with drug-induced liver
injury.
In 2002, Hisham moved back to the California and joined Amgen Inc, a
pharmaceutical company, as a senior scientist. He is currently the Director of
Preclinical Safety testing. Hisham leads
a group of scientists responsible for the study of drug side effects with the
goal of helping promote the development of the safest and most effective
medications in order to treat acute and chronic diseases.
Dr. Hamadeh has authored many papers on the
understanding of the adverse effects of medicines and environmental
contaminants on the body. He has edited
a book on the topic, titled, "Toxicogenomics: Principles and Applications." He
is often invited to lecture at national and international conferences as well as
academic institutions.
Hisham is a
past-president of the Southern California Chapter of the Society of Toxicology
and currently serves on the Career Resource and Development committee for the
Society of Toxicology. He is also a Diplomate of the American Board of
Toxicology.
Hisham is an avid tennis fan and has enjoyed playing
since childhood. He also spends time on his motorcycle around the Malibu canyons as well as
bicycling, hiking, rock climbing and hanging out with friends.
One of the main reasons Hisham has joined the House
of Lebanon Young professionals (HOL-YP) is to help build a support network for young members of the
Lebanese community with the hope that
all can benefit from mentorship experiences while enjoying many
enriching social activities.
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