By Gabriella Gage
Mirror-Spectator Staff
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — On Friday, November 9, the Knights of Vartan Ararat Lodge will hold its annual awards gala at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. The reception will take place at 7 p.m., followed by dinner at 8 p.m.
The Knights will honor Haig Deranian, a member for more than 30 years and a former grand commander, as the “Man of the Year.” On receiving this honor, Deranian remarked, “I appreciate being chosen. I look at it as a great accomplishment. But I also need to give credit to all those I have worked with over the years. They have inspired me and I guess I have inspired them. It has really been a team effort… so I accept this award on behalf of all those I have worked with over the years in the Armenian community.”
New Sparabed Jirair Demirchian will also be in attendance and said of this year’s “Man of the Year,” “He [Deranian] deserves the man of the year award. He has always been a great leader for all the lodges and for the community.”
As the leader of the lodge, Demirchian said he hopes to “continue to help all the Armenian organizations in the community.” Demirchian shared his specific goals for his time as leader: “My goal is to help Armenian schools. […] Without the Armenian schools, children won’t learn about our history, heritage and culture.”
