Armenian ceremony honors two Lowell leaders

12/06/2005
Lowell Sun
By STEPHEN LATESSA, Sun Correspondent

CHELMSFORD -- In a ceremony celebrating 110 years of Armenian heritage in Greater Lowell, two prominent city leaders and a local organization were among those honored for their community service.

Lowell City Councilor Rita Mercier, and Mehmed Ali, director of the Mogan Cultural Center, were presented with Community Service awards by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) [...]. The Lowell Lusintak Chapter of the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) was also recognized.

Ali was honored for helping to showcase the rich cultural and ethnic diversity of the Lowell area. In particular, ARF pointed to a two-month exhibit the Mogan Cultural Center hosted on the Armenian Genocide.
[...]
Ali, who's grandfather was Turkish, noted the poignancy of the award being presented to someone of Turkish descent and expressed his desire to “act as a bridge between the Turkish and Armenian communities.”
[...]


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