It has been over twenty years since our beloved Garo Madenlian tragically passed away on April 19, 1998. To mark the 20th year anniversary of Garo’s passing, his family and friends have organized the Garo Madenlian Memorial Fund to honor his memory. Proceeds will go toward upgrading the facilities at Ferrahian Armenian School, where Garo attended and made many of his memories and friends.
A GoFundMe crowd-funding campaign has been launched to help the effort reach its anticipated goal. Specifically, the effort seeks to fund the new basketball court at Ferrahian’s White Oak campus. As part of the “Gabriel & Rose Injejikian Sports Complex” project currently underway at Ferrahian’s Encino campus, the large dirt field is being converted into a turf soccer field and a state-of-the-art outdoor basketball court.
Upon completion of the project, a plaque commemorating Garo will be placed at the new outdoor basketball court.
An announcement of the Garo Madenlian Memorial Fund and facilities upgrades will be made at this year’s Ferrahian Armens 50th Anniversary Banquet scheduled for April 6. The evening’s program will also include a brief memorial to Garo.
Garo attended Ferrahian his entire life, where he was always a member of various Armens teams until he graduated in 1995. He was also an active member of the Armenian Youth Federation, serving on the executive board of the Valley Sardarabad Chapter and also spending every summer at AYF Camp, both as a camper and then a counselor.
In addition to the Memorial Fund initiative, to honor Garo’s memory, his family and friends are also sponsoring the Armens Alumni Golf Tournament, which will become an annual event that will bear his name.
The inaugural tournament took place this past year at De Bell Golf Course in Burbank and raised over $10,000 for Ferrahian, with many of Garo’s friends and family in attendance. It is anticipated that proceeds from this event will be donated to Ferrahian to keep Garo’s memory alive.
