OREANDA-NEWS. October 27, 2014. President Serzh Sargsyan today made a working visit to Shirak and Lori marzes. The Armenian President attended the opening of Gyumri’s Varduhi School of Arts in Shirak marz, toured the secondary school-college after Armenak and Elizabeth Oyunjyans, familiarized with the current activities of the education complex and the upcoming projects of the art school holding about 300 children.

Following the speeches made by the Chairman of the Board of the Oyunjyan Charitable Foundation Eznig Balyan and Shirak Governor Felix Tsolakyan about the patriotic undertakings of the benefactor Hovhannes Oyunjyan and his foundation, the governor awarded the Title of the Honorary Citizen of the Marz to H. Oyunjyan and RA Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosyan awarded the benefactor the Gold Medal of the Ministry of Culture. As a token of his appreciation for the activities of the national benefactor, the Armenian President had awarded H. Oyunjyan the second-class Medal of Service to the Motherland in 2011.

Thanking Armenian authorities for supporting him in making his old dream of building an education center in the Motherland, including the capital of arts and crafts Gyumri a reality, Hovhannes Oyunjyan underscored that he aims to found a new school of arts in the near future so that Gyumri does not lose its age-old traditions: “Distinguished Mr. President, honorable governor and mayor, US Ambassador, dear guests, as far back as 2000, when the college bearing my parents’ names opened, I said the following words that if I were able to sow one seed of wheat in Armenia caught in a difficult situation and reap the fruits of my labor, I will be very happy. Now I have to say that one seed has grown into a wheat spike. Hence, I have all the more reason to consider myself happy, especially that it is not only me that reap the fruits, but also the whole Gyumri and the Armenian world,” said the benefactor Hovhannes Oyunjyan at the solemn opening ceremony of Varduhi School of Arts.

The president visited Spitak Poultry Plant in Lori marz, familiarized with the investments, the activities of the plant and its development projects. During the tour the president was presented that the plant is located in the same place where one of the largest regional poultry plants completely destroyed by the 1988 devastating earthquake sat. As a result of Spitak Poultry Plant’s construction works started about a year ago, a poultry plant equipped with modern production lines was built. According to the executives, the company specializing in production of poultry meat is going to breed well-known types of meat birds. The exploitation of the poultry plant will allow increasing the domestic poultry meat production by 25 percent giving neighborhood agronomists an opportunity to realize their grain yield. Spitak Poultry Plant is going to employ about 220 employees.