January 12, 1999

Bay Area ANC Honors Retiring State Senator Quentin Kopp

San Francisco, Jan. 10  - The Bay Area Armenian National Committee honored retiring state senator Quentin Kopp last Sunday at the Armenian Community Center in San Francisco, on the occasion of the festive annual Armenian Christmas luncheon sponsored by the Armenian Relief Society Garin chapter.

Presenting former Senator Kopp a plaque in appreciation of his 27-year legacy of public service and dedication to the Armenian-American community,  ANC spokesperson Roxanne Makasdjian highlighted the issues the organization has worked with Kopp to promote.   "Whether it was years ago, when we struggled for a state law mandating the instruction of the Armenian Genocide in our schools, or it was the passage of Genocide recognition bills throughout the years, or when Turkey came calling last year at UC Berkeley pushing its denial agenda, Senator Kopp was always ready to speak out, question, and put his vote down when it counted.  Even recently, Senator Kopp did not hesitate to write to those few Bay Area Congressmen who voted against banning aid to Azerbaijan, questioning their position on our behalf," said Makasdjian.

The former senator will soon begin his new post as San Mateo County Superior Court judge.   On display Sunday were a sampling of photos Judge Kopp has made available to the ANC, depicting images from Armenia in 1919.  The photos were part of a report by a U.S. Army special mission to Armenia and Turkey in 1919-1920, to assess the social and political conditions there after WWI.  Judge Kopp's father was a member of that mission, and related to his son first-hand knowledge of the effects of the great tragedy which had befallen the Armenians.

Judge Kopp told anecdotes from his father's experiences to the crowd Sunday.  "This report is an important weapon against revisionists who would prefer to say the events never happened." Kopp said.