[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 165 (Friday, October 18, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1311]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      TRIBUTE TO ARMENIANS OF COLORADO, INC. ON ITS 40TH BIRTHDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JASON CROW

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 18, 2019

  Mr. CROW. Madam Speaker, I would like to pay tribute to Colorado's 
oldest and largest Armenian American organization--Armenians of 
Colorado, Inc. (AOC)--for their four decades of community building.
  Established in 1979 by several families, Armenians of Colorado (AOC) 
is a nonprofit organization that has grown to serve the Front Range's 
vibrant Armenian American community. From teaching the Armenian 
language and cultural traditions to raising awareness about Armenian 
history, AOC has been the pillar of the Centennial State's rapidly 
growing, vibrant Armenian community. Its purpose is to foster a 
cohesive Armenian community and to further the understanding of 
Armenian history, culture, language, and customs within the community 
and to the general public.
  AOC's landmark achievement, the Colorado State Capitol Armenian 
Memorial Garden, was established in 1982 with the planting of a blue 
spruce and installation of a memorial plaque in commemoration of the 
1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide. In 2015, on the 
centennial anniversary of the commencement of the Armenian Genocide, 
AOC renovated the Colorado State Capitol Armenian Memorial Garden and 
installed a replica of a medieval Armenian khachkar (cross-stone) in 
memory of the victims of all crimes against humanity and in tribute to 
Coloradans who participated in the Near East Relief's philanthropic 
efforts to rescue and raise 132,000 orphans of the Armenian Genocide. 
This khachkar memorial is a recreation of one of the 3,000 Djulfa 
cross-stones destroyed during the Nagorno-Karabakh War.
  Because the fact is, while the Armenian genocide occurred generations 
ago and an ocean away, we still feel its pain. We have seen how easily 
the same motives that allowed the Armenian genocide to occur still 
happen to today. As we have learned, all too often an assault on any 
ethnic group or religion is an assault on all of us.
  AOC has also been instrumental in partnering with the Armenian 
National Committee of America to establish the Sardarapat Armenian 
Memorial Highway in my District in 2018 to mark the centennial 
anniversary of the establishment of the Armenian Republic and to 
celebrate Armenian Genocide survivors' determination to save their 
nation from total extinction.
  On its 40th birthday, I wish AOC many more successes in its 
commendable mission of serving the educational and cultural needs of 
Colorado's vibrant Armenian American community.

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