Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Corona invited members of the Armenian
American community to his office for a luncheon on Friday, January 13, 2006.
Sylvie Tertzakian, who serves on the Sheriff’s Community Coalition, a long time
ANC supporter and personal friend of Sheriff Carona, facilitated the luncheon.
Chris Guldjian, Garo Madenlian, Ara Malazian, and Seda Yaghoubian-
Hambarsumian attendend the luncheon on behalf of the Armenian National
Committee of Orange County (ANC-OC). Also present during the luncheon were
Hrair Jermakian, representing Forty Martyr’s Armenian Apostolic Church, Krikor
Mahdessian from the AGBU Orange County Chapter, and Greg Sermabeikian an
AGBU Youth Group Leader.
During the luncheon Sheriff Carona introduced himself, gave a brief biography of
his law enforcement career and stressed the importance of reaching out to the
various communities in order to effectively fulfill his duties as Orange County
Sheriff. Each attendee also introduced himself or herself and briefly outlined the
activities and mission of their organization. The main focus of the discussions
during the luncheon centered around the Armenian Genocide, Armenian Culture,
and the activities of the various organizations.
Immediately following the luncheon, the ANC-OC representatives and Sylvie
Tertzakian had a private meeting with Sheriff Carona, where they discussed in
detail the current congressional legislation to reaffirm the Armenian Genocide.
The Sheriff was curious as to why the United States had not yet accepted the
Armenian Genocide as a historical fact. ANC-OC representatives explained that
US foreign policy, primarily the US State Department’s position regarding Turkey,
along with other political forces in the US had worked to stop this important
legislation. ANC-OC representatives also stressed that California had included the
Armenian Genocide in the state’s education curriculum.
Some of the other items discussed centered around working together in the future,
including organizing a community event to introduce Sheriff Carona to the Orange
County Armenian-American community, further appointments to various
committees, and the Sheriff’s assistance to help realize projects at the Armenian
Center.
At the conclusion of the meeting ANC-OC representatives gave Sheriff Carona
one of Harout Sassounian’s latest books outlining current and historical leaders
admissions and quotes regarding the Armenian Genocide.
