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Gala “Celebrating the Future” Will Take Place in Newport Beach on March 4, 2017
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) will honor Kenneth L. Khachigian with the Deukmejian Award for Public Service during its “Celebrating the Future” Gala in Newport Beach, California on March 4. Khachigian served on the Assembly’s Board of Directors from 1983-1989, as well as the Assembly’s Executive Committee in 1990 as Public Affairs Chair.
The Assembly’s Deukmejian Award for Public Service was established in 1987, and is granted to individuals who embody the qualities of an exemplary public servant.
"I am honored to receive the Deukmejian Award for Public Service – named appropriately for George Deukmejian who made such exceptional contributions to our state and country. I’m especially pleased because this award underscores the Armenian Assembly’s appreciation for hard work and dedication in the public sector. I accept this special recognition with deep gratitude and also express my thanks, as a former Board Member, for the Assembly’s hard work over the years to strengthen and advance our issues in the highest councils of government and in advancing U.S.-Armenia relations," Khachigian stated.
Khachigian possesses more than 35 years of strategic expertise in governmental affairs, complex business litigation, and public service. He is widely regarded throughout the United States and the State of California for providing exceptional counseling in government relations, crisis management, and strategic problem solving. Khachigian has participated in nine presidential campaigns, six of them at senior strategic and staff levels.
Following the 1980 presidential campaign, Khachigian was commissioned by President Ronald Reagan – who consistently reaffirmed and commemorated the Armenian Genocide as Governor of California and President of the U.S. – as Special Consultant to the President, and attended Cabinet meetings as a senior member of the White House Staff. He enjoyed a unique personal and professional relationship with President Reagan, with whom he worked one-on-one for many of the president’s most prominent public addresses. These include the First Inaugural, two State of the Union Messages, Reagan’s reelection announcement and Acceptance Speech in 1984, foreign policy remarks at the United Nations General Assembly, and dozens of other Presidential speeches. In the first April after he was elected in 1981, President Reagan issued Proclamation 4838 squarely acknowledging the Armenian Genocide, as is well remembered.
Khachigian has been widely quoted in state and national newspapers and in news magazines, and has appeared as a political analyst on all three major broadcast networks – Fox News, MSNBC and CNN – and related cable and radio talk shows. He frequently lectures before business groups and national associations on government affairs and politics. For two and a half years, Khachigian wrote a popular biweekly column of political commentary for the Los Angeles Times.
He is currently a Senior Partner in the Orange County, Los Angeles, and Washington offices of Brownstein/Hyatt/Farber/Schreck, and a member of its Government Relations and Natural Resources groups. His practice includes a range of high-level environmental and government relations matters, particularly where legal, governmental, and public issues intersect.
Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a non-partisan, 501©(3) tax-exempt membership organization.