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December 20, 2010
Young Professionals of Los Angeles Plan New Year's Event and Charge Ahead in 2011
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The AGBU Young Professionals of Los Angeles volunteers, who spent the day cleaning up Dockweiler Beach in Playa del Rey, Los Angeles.
By Aleen L. Khanjian
The AGBU Young Professionals of Los Angeles (YPLA), the foremost professional networking group for young Armenians in Los Angeles, carried out a number of cultural, professional, and social events this past year. The menu of programs, organized by the YPLA Steering Committee in an effort to widen the reach of AGBU throughout the greater Los Angeles area, was diverse and appealed to different members of the YPLA community.
Some of the 2010 community outreach events included a Beach Clean-up at Dockweiler Beach, in partnership with Heal the Bay, an environmental nonprofit organization that is focused on cleaning Southern California beaches; Career Day, where over 30 professionals shared their diverse fields of specialization and career paths with high school students at the Vatche & Tamar Manoukian AGBU Pasadena High School; and "Armos in the Wild: The Sequel" weekend, where Armenian professionals went camping under the stars in Kernville, CA. This past fall, YPLA partnered with the American Hellenic Council to host an evening of networking, with over 100 young professionals of Armenian and Greek origin, who gathered to discuss ideas, share experiences, and exchange business cards. "The community in Los Angeles is so large that it can be challenging, at times, to appeal to our diverse constituency. I think our Committee did a great job of organizing unique events that appealed to a broader Armenian audience, while still fulfilling the mission of AGBU. In addition to our monthly events, we managed to redesign and re-launch our website, which was a goal of ours for the past few years. I'm extremely proud of our work and know that it will continue for years to come," said Sevana Melikian, current 2010 Steering Committee Chair.
YPLA will end the year with a New Year's Eve Party on December 31 at the WEST Restaurant and Lounge at the Angeleno Hotel from 9:00 pm to 2:00 am. For more information on this event, please visit: www.agbuypla.org. Individual tickets cost $100 and include a complimentary cocktail, hors d'oeuvres, and a champagne toast. Tickets will need to be purchased in advance online.
As event planning and organization is underway for AGBU YPLA 2011, newly elected chairman Yeghig L. Keshishian invites prospective individuals interested in joining the YPLA steering committee to submit an application for consideration. "Given how successful we were last year in terms of recruiting new members to our Steering Committee, we are optimistic about our prospects for 2011. We ask anyone interested in pursuing an elected position with YPLA to submit an application for consideration. To maintain the organization's profile and visibility within the Armenian community of Los Angeles, we need active professionals on our Committee who are civic minded," stated Keshishian. To obtain an application to join the Steering Committee, or to find out other ways to become more involved, please send an email to agbu.ypla@gmail.com.
Besides Keshishian, the YPLA executive board is made up of vice chairwoman Angela Karaguezian, secretary Aleen Torikian, and treasurer Theodore Khachaturian; returning steering committee members are Areg Bagdasarian, Rita Grigorian, Raffi Martinian, Sevana Melikian, Tano Simonian, and the group's publicist, Aleen Khanjian.
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