September 24, 2020
Part 2 (last 20 minutes):
This week, host Mihran Toumajan of the Armenian Assembly of America Radio Hour, had the pleasure of interviewing two members of the Board of Directors of the Armenian Artists Project (AAP), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in San Diego, CA in 2018 by Mr. Jim Mouradick. AAP operates an online digital art gallery to support Armenian artists living and working in Armenia, by providing them with a platform to promote, exhibit and sell their original artwork to a wide international market.
During the second half of the show, Toumajan held a fascinating conversation with AAP Board member Mr. Dennis Parnagian. Moving to the City of Fowler in California’s San Joaquin Valley at the age of five, Dennis graduated from Fowler High School in 1965, and continued his education at the University of San Francisco where he received a Bachelor’s degree in International Finance. Dennis is the President of Fowler Packing Co., a family business in which Dennis and his brothers – second generation business leaders – manage different divisions of the company. Fowler Packing has growing operations in the southern San Joaquin Valley and in the Central Valley, and has modified its product line with the addition of fresh table grapes and mandarins. It now operates approximately 600,000 sq. ft. of highly automated packing, cooling, and marketing facilities, and is involved in industrial, commercial, and residential developments. Fowler Packing employs approximately 2,500 people, including 8 out of 12 members of the next generation of Parnagians. Throughout his professional career, Dennis has been active in industry associations for the betterment of the industry and its members. He served as a board member and chairman of the California Table Grape Commission, as well as for the California Tree Fruit Agreement, the USDA Advisory Committee, the California Grape and Tree Fruit League, and the California-Arizona Mandarin Growers Association.