On Wednesday morning, the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee accepted the resignation of former Board Chair William Paparian. The Board also unanimously elected former Pasadena Police Chief and White House COPS Program Executive Director Bernard Melekian as its Interim Chair. Mr. Melekian accepted and issued the following statement: “This project is bigger than any one person. It is a memorial to those who perished, including those members of my family, those of my fellow board members, and our relatives who survived. I and all of the members of the Committee are honored to help in this effort. The Genocide Memorial project remains on track, our fundraising is on schedule and this project will be built. “In addition, the Board had on its agenda a review of the terms and conditions of a draft contract for construction. The prospect of shortly breaking ground and the tremendous positive momentum engendered over the past week for moving forward with the project has Board Members and the community very excited.
“The Board, as is prudent under a new board Chair, also implemented a thorough review of the board’s financial processes to ensure that all appropriate financial protocols are being observed and are accurate. Two board members will be conducting a complete reconciliation of all transactions with the board’s CPA Firm and fiscal agent, the venerable Community Foundation of the Verdugos. This review will be completed within the next two weeks.
“Our ancestors deserve only the finest effort from their dependents who survived,” concluded Chief Melekian.
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