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Ararat Home Rejects Western Diocese’s Proposal for Participation in a Multi-Million Joint Venture

Posted on June. 21. 2019

BREAKING NEWS: LOS ANGELES JUNE 21, 2019

Friday June 21, 2019

EXCLUSIVE TO
USA ARMENIAN LIFE MAGAZINE

BY APPO JABARIAN

Since its founding in 1949, Ararat Home of Los Angeles has maintained its character as a non-profit, non-partisan, non-denominational organization providing assisted living and nursing/convalescent care facilities primarily for the Armenian community in the Los Angeles area.
Ararat Home of Los Angeles, Inc. is a non-denominational and non-partisan institution that is totally independent from all major faith-based and community-based organizations. However, it seems that the prevailing mentality of the Western Diocese primate Arch. Hovnan Derderian and his inner circle, Ararat Home is an asset-rich entity that should be taken over by Derderian’s ring led by Derderian himself and his allies, attorney Joseph Kanimian and other Derderian-aligned Ararat Home board members.
Sources within Ararat Home have notified this editor that a few years ago, Arch. Derderian and Kanimian jointly tried to convince the board of trustees of the Ararat Home to get into a joint venture with the Western Diocese. This proposal was that Ararat Home build a close to $15 million dollars facility on a vacant land owned by the Diocese in San Diego.
Several board members argued against the idea saying that “Ararat Home is not in the business of going into such a joint venture with other entities in the community.” The proposal was rejected.

However, with the orchestration of this year’s re-election of Joseph Kanimian as Chairman of the Board, many members of Ararat Home are concerned that Mr. Kanimian may serve as a proxy of Arch. Derderian for a systematic take-over by Diocese members who are already on Ararat Home Board of Trustees.
As of April 25, 2019, the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees is comprised of Joseph Kanimian, Esq. | Chairman, Ron Nazeley as 1st Vice Chair, Richard Jebejian as 2nd Vice Chair, Debbie Avedian as Secretary, Arthur Zabounian as Assistant Secretary, Michael Surmeian as Treasurer, and Vahe Vartanian as Assistant Treasurer. The remaining members of the Board of Trustees are: Raffi Balian, M.D., Vatche Bardakjian, M.D., Shahe Boyadjian, Peter Darakjian, Armen Hampar, Nora Hampar, Gary Kaloostian, Maggie Mangassarian-Goschin, Rafi Mardirosian, Roy Martinian, D.D.S., Harout Mesrobian, M.D., Joseph Ouzounian, M.D., Kohar Mardirossian Pelter, Berj Shahbazian, Sinan Sinanian, and Nadya Verabian.
For the time being, this writer is abstaining from singling out the Derderian-aligned individuals in the above listed names.
Interestingly, it was revealed that the proposed building size of the Western Diocese elderly care facility in San Diego would be similar to the new addition for assisted living facility at Ararat Home main campus in Mission Hills, California. The fact that the cost of such construction was comparable to a similar facility at Ararat Home ran around $7 million begs the question: Why would Western Diocese need Ararat Home to join in the construction of a multi-million-dollar facility when the Diocese could have borrowed from a bank the needed funds to build on own vacant land?
The primary purpose of this article is 1) to Alert the general membership of Ararat Home and the public of a possible takeover of Ararat Home by Derderian’s proxies of Western Diocese; 2) Subsequent massive misappropriation of Ararat Home funds by individuals with questionable motives; 3) to Foster vigilance in protecting Ararat Home’s independence and 4) to Develop alertness for the benefit of maintaining Ararat Home’s financial health.