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House of Lebanon E-Newsletter March 2011
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Three Lebanese Organizations
One Worthy Cause
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2011
HOUSE OF LEBANON
EVENTS
We are currently making plans for the annual Picnic, Pride of Heritage Banquet and 2012 Golf Classic.
Check back next month to save the date for these events and more!
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YOUNG PROFESSIONAL
EVENTS
For more information on future House of Lebanon Young Professional Events visit their website
Email at:
HOLYP Email
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HOL Artists' Exhibitions & Performances
Huguette Caland
See Huguette's latest
show in Lebanon
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COMMUNITY CALENDAR OF EVENTS
JUNE
Saturday, June 18th Los Angeles Cedars Rotary Handover Party For more information on these and future events, please contact the organization directly. |
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www.HouseofLebanon.com Lebanese American Foundation, Inc. 12198 Ventura Boulevard Suite 207 Studio City, CA 91604 818 980-0003 eFAX 818 301-1940 |
Annual
House of Lebanon
Picnic
&
Cultural
Celebration Plans are underway for our annual picnic. We will be announcing the date and location in a few weeks. If you are interested in being a vendor and selling your jewelry, fashions, crafts, services or food, please contact Hadi Khalil at 909 260-9990 or the Office at 818 980-0003. |
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| Dear Friends of the House of Lebanon,
The House of Lebanon, Lebanese American Medical Association and International College of Beirut joint fundraiser to raise money to ship hospital beds to Lebanon was a Success with a definite capital S! Over 165 guests attended this event. With this formula for success, we hope to plan more events with other Lebanese organizations and colleges in the future.
We will be announcing the date of our annual picnic in the next newsletter. This year's event will not only be a picnic, but a celebration of the Lebanese culture. If you are interested in participating in the picnic, please contact us. We are looking for vendors to sell gifts, crafts, services and food to the public, in addition to volunteers to organize the backgammon, card tournaments and other activities. In you are interested in a booth at the picnic call LAF Board Member, Hadi Khalil at 909 260-9990.
Best Wishes from Our House to Yours,
Karen Srour
Executive Director |
A Message from
Honorable James Kaddo
Chairman of the Board
Dear Friends, I have nothing new to report but the search for an appropriate location goes on. Our latest search found a piece of property consisting of app. 40,000 square feet on Hollywood Blvd near Vermont Ave. There is nothing solid as yet but it looks very promising. Let me also take this opportunity to salute Mr. Leon Saliba, an ardent and consistent supporter of our foundation, on reaching his 100th birthday. Judge Kaddo |
A Message from
Mohamed "Mike" Ahmar
President
Dear Friends,
On February 5th, the House of Lebanon had the pleasure of welcoming the President of International College of Beirut, Mr. John Johnson, along with Moufid Beydoun, V.P. for Alumni & Development, and Mishka Mojabber Mourani, Senior Vice President and many IC alumni to the Beverly Hills Country Club. As my wife Hania (Class of 1992) and I (Class of 1980) greeted the guests, it was heartwarming to welcome so many IC graduates who live in Southern California and hold prominent positions in engineering, banking, medicine and commerce. Thank you for your warm welcome to Mr. Johnson and to all the IC alumni.......until we meet again.
Mike
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SUCCESS...
The House of Lebanon
Lebanese American Medical Association International College of Beirut
Guests from the House of Lebanon, the Lebanese American Medical Association and alumni and staff from the International College of Beirut, gathered on February 5th at the Beverly Hills Country Club for an evening to renew old friendships and raise funds for ALMA to transport hospital beds to Lebanon.
The Honorable James Kaddo, Chairman of the House of Lebanon welcomed the crowd and thanked the three groups for gathering together and raising money for a worthy cause.
ALMA's successful silent auction raised over $3,000 to transport 200 hospital beds to under-served areas of Lebanon. ALMA's president, Dr. Paul Wakim, welcomed Dr. Ray Hachem, National ALMA President and his wife Sandra who came from Houston, Texas to participate in the fundraising efforts of the Los Angeles ALMA Chapter. Dr. Wakim thanked everyone who "participated in this great cause."
Mohamed Ahmar, President of the House of Lebanon welcomed and introduced John Johnson, President of International College of Beirut, Moufid Beydoun, V.P. for Alumni & Development IC, and Mishka Mojabber Mourani, Senior Vice President IC. Over 40 IC alumni gathered to help support ALMA's worthy cause and meet classmates they had not seen in years.
Mishka Mojabber Mourani spoke to the audience about her book, BALCONIES: A Mediterranean Memoir. Mourani's Balconies in a review by Megan Khairallah, is not only a memoir but also a collage of photos, letters, fiction and reportage. In it the author explores the themes of war, exile, identity, heritage and multicultural identities.
Plan on joining up for our future Social Dinner Events!
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A Message from Mishka Mourani,
International College of Beirut
Thank you all for a delightful evening, and Amira for being so gracious and efficient! To quote Judge Kaddo may the House of Lebanon remain a vibrant home for this wonderful community. All the best, Mishka M Mourani Senior Vice President International College Beirut, Lebanon Mishka Mojabber Mourani's BALCONIES is available on AMAZON http://www.amazon.com/Balconies-Mediterranean-Mishka-Mojabber-Mourani/dp/995374257X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1283745587&sr=1-1 Reviews and news of "Balconies,"please visit http://balconies2009.blogspot.com/
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 Board of Directors
New Member Spotlight
Hani Wazzan
Hani was born in Beirut in 1963 and immigrated to the U.S. in 1982. Hani earned his Bachelors Degree from Cal Poly, Pomona in 1986 and his MBA in Finance from Long Beach State University in 1992.
Hani is currently the chief financial officer for a private company in the aerospace and defense industry. His background includes over twenty years of executive financial management. Hani is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Management Accountant and is an active member of the American Institute of CPA, the Institute of Management Accountant, as well as the Financial Executive Network Group.
Hani enjoys playing squash and basketball. He is married to Sultana Fawaz and has two children, May and Jad.
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HOL Artists' Spotlight Linda Dalal Sawaya  | | Linda Dalal Sawaya in a photo by Bruno Jakob |
Linda Dalal Sawaya-artist, writer, cook, and gardener-is the fifth and youngest daughter of Lebanese immigrants from Douma, an archetypal mountain village overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Her artwork, inspired by her rich cultural heritage, is an effusion of color, texture, and pattern like the Oriental rugs embellishing their Mediterranean style home in her birthplace, Los Angeles, where her great uncle, Fr. Gerasimos Sawaya, in 1909 founded the city's first Melkite Church-St. Anne's. Sawaya's passions emanate from her parents and grandparents' extended household: her father an avid photographer and fig tree planter, yogurt maker, teller of Joha stories; her mother and grandmother outstanding cooks raised in the tradition of village sewing, cooking, gardening, natural remedies, and creating; and her grandfather, a multi-lingual doctor whose eclectic love of books (he taught her to read at 5), art, history, saints, Ripley's Believe-It-or-Not, madonnas, anatomy, and endless information collaged into personal journals that read 50 years later, layer upon layer, like 3-D websurfing. In 1971, Sawaya's three-month maiden roots voyage to Lebanon profoundly altered her life as an individual, as a cook, and as an artist, as much as her years growing up in a Lebanese-American household full of the people, food, Arabic language, music, aromas, and furnishings of Lebanon intermingled with English, Spanish, and rock 'n roll. While at UCLA getting a design degree, she began by following her father's path of photography, then flowing into ceramics, and in subsequent years, graphic design merged with her love of books, reaching near-sublimity in learning to paint, then peaking in illustrating children's books. Completing the circle generated the making of her family cookbook Alice's Kitchen: Traditional Lebanese Cooking, a tribute to her mother, Alice and grandmother Dalal. Alice's Kitchen, a cherished book for children of immigrants whose mothers prepared the fabulous Lebanese dishes preserved through generations without measuring, is memoir and labor of love.   Sawaya's newest work forthcoming in June-illustrating the stories for Sweets of Araby with tales from the 1001 Arabian Nights and designing it's cover-provided an enchanting journey into the visual world of her ancestors-both real and imagined. Authors of the book are Leila Salloum Elias and Muna Salloum, and the publisher is Countryman Press. Sawaya joined House of Lebanon in 2009 thanks to esteemed artist member Reem Hammad. She delighted in participating in the Beyond Borders exhibition last year and is included in the Encyclopedia of Arab American Artists. Even though she lives and creates art in Portland, Oregon, she anticipates joining HOL activities as she is able, as it is near and dear to her heart. www.lindasawaya.com lindasawaya.blogspot.com aliceskitchencookbook.blogspot.com    |
HOL Artists' Group | NOW CAROLE CHOUCAIR OUEIJAN in the News... As reported by Mosaic Art Now, "In 2009, Oueijan was commissioned by the City of Temecula, CA to create a 7 x 10 foot mosaic for their new 95,000 sq ft, $73 million dollar City Hall. Her spectacular Emigrant Trail, designed to commemorate the City's rich history as a gateway to The West, was unveiled to the public on December 9th of 2010." Carole "was kind enough to provide MAN with a number of photos chronicling every step of her production from concept to installation. Whether you are a mosaic artist yourself or are a public official considering the installation of a large-scale mosaic work these photos easily serve as a short primer for the way a project of this size should be done." Take a moment to view the step by step production of this remarkable piece of art. You will be proud and amazed!
 | | Carole with husband Milad and Temecula City Manager Bob Johnson in front of the mosaic. |
MAN, Mosaic Art Now: http://mosaicartnow.blogspot.com/2011/01/splendor-in-mosaic-carole-choucair.html
Californian, NC Times: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/temecula/article_b28f31fe-cc78-5c7e-bc87-ec1aa9dc4714.html
Beyond Borders Art Exhibition in the News...
Pat and Samir Twair have written an article about our 2010 Beyond Borders Art Exhibition in the December issue of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs Magazine. Scroll down to the second article. You can view it at:
http://www.wrmea.com/component/content/article/362-2010-december/10223-southern-california-chronicle-campaign-aims-to-divest-state-funds-from-corporations-enabling-israeli-occupation-.html
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Presentation of the Lebanese Mosaic Flag
Created at the 2010 Beyond Borders Art Exhibition to the
Board of Directors
(l to r) - Judge James Kaddo, Carole Choucair Oueijan, HOL Artists' Group Chairman, Reem Hammad, Beyond Borders Exhibition Director, Mike Ahmar |
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The House of Lebanon Artists' Group
Welcomes Three New Artists this Month
Maece Seirafi
Maece is a Graphic designer and Calligrapher.
Diana M. Haddad, Nani Bitar (Label).
Diana writes, "I am a designer and also represent an abstract artist, Fadia Haddad. I was raised in Connecticut and went to college at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA on a swimming scholarship. I went to graduate school at FIDM ( Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising) and majored in apparel manufacturing management. I have always been very artistic and business oriented so fashion school after my university seemed natural :). I have 2 brothers, currently doing freelance graphic design, and am in the process of starting my label. I belong to a number of associations here in Los Angeles and am also learning to speak Lebanese. My father is Lebanese and am really looking forward to meeting all the wonderful Lebanese masha allah artists."
"I will be incorporating Fadia Haddad's artwork in my clothes this fall season. I would love meeting other Lebanese. I feel it's really important to know your roots and think its really nice to be able to be part of organizations that incorporate your culture. I love that this group combines the Lebanese community & art! My 2 loves! :)
Eman Abohebeish
Eman is a painter and photographer.
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House of Lebanon or the Lebanese American Foundation.
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