By: Elki Issa
The Board of Directors of the Assyrian Aid Society convenes annually in one of its chapter cities for a weekend of meetings, capped off with a fund-raising dinner. This year’s event was hosted by the AAS’ Central Valley Chapter and was held at the beautiful Season’s Catering in Modesto on Saturday, February 27th.
Over 100 of our loyal supporters attended this year’s dinner and enjoyed a wonderful evening of good food and superb wine while listening to the folklore music of the legendary Sooren as performed by local musicians.
The evening began with a welcome from AAS President Narsai David. After giving the audience an overview of the financial status of the AAS, Narsai introduced the first of only a limited number of reproduced flag prints that belonged to Agha Petros. Four generous supporters bought one each which raised $4400 for AAS, leaving the AAS 16 prints to be auctioned off at future events.
We were fortunate to have with us this evening the legendary artist, Rabi Hanibal Alkhas. Rabi Hanibal gave a lovely speech, providing some great commentary on current Assyrian politics.
The highlight of the evening was the tribute to Sooren Alexander. The granddaughters of the late composer provided us with a biography of the legendary musician, and it was truly amazing to hear of the many achievements of this talented Assyrian artist. Sooren produced some of the most beloved Assyrian folkloric classics, five of which were performed for us that evening.
The Central Valley Chapter of the AAS is to be commended for hosting such a beautiful evening. The chapter’s volunteers – Tony Khoshaba (also the newly elected Director to the Board), Fred Isaac, Bata Younan, Sargon Alkurge, Rita Mulhim and Gina Shamoon and Kooroosh Hormozi – all worked tirelessly. Job well done!