Vrej Agajanian

2When Vrej Agajanian sent a letter to members of the Glendale City

Council back in March, offering four proposals to accommodate the

Armenian Society of Los Angeles’ headquarters with the incoming Town

Center, he never expected the firestorm that followed.

The city accepted Agajanian’s fourth proposal, in which the city

bought the ASLA’s headquarters on Brand Boulevard for $5 million, and

gave the society land on Louise Street to build a new headquarters.

“People, they are misunderstanding the situation,” said Agajanian,

chairman of the sociey’s board of directors. “They think this

exchange is property for property. This is an exchange for property

and services we have to go through.” He said the society needed $5

million to build a new headquarters without interrupting its services

to the community.

Agajanian draws much of his influence from Glendale’s Armenian

American population from his weekly TV show, “ABC TV Live with Vrej

Agajanian,” from 10 a.m. to noon Sundays on Charter Communications

Channel 26.

Last year’s ranking: 77.