On Sunday, June 6, Mr. Arkadi Ghukasyan, the Former President of NKR and Vice-President of "Hayastan" All-Armenian Fund Board and Advisor to the President of Armenia, as the key-note speaker at the annual banquet of Armenia Fund Toronto, kicked off the fundraising for the re-construction of the Education and Cultural Centre of Shushi, in Artsakh. With the motto "From Toronto to Shushi - From the second best city in the world to the Best" the program started in front of a capacity crowd. The MC of the evening was Dr. Berge Minassian, who in his opening remarks, drew parallels between Zeitun and Shushi, only this time with a victorious ending. Migirdic Migirdicyan, the Chairman of Toronto Chapter, started his presentation with the video of the opening of the school for the Spitakashen village, which had taken place in early May. At the end of the video clip, students from Spitakashen holding signs of THANK YOU TORONTO brought loud cheers from the attendees. This was the 5th school that Armenia Fund Toronto had built. Then the details of the new project, the Education and Cultural Centre of Shushi was presented. The centre will house classrooms for learning traditional musical instruments, painting, arts and crafts, theatre rehearsals, traditional Armenian dance and ballet, and a puppet theatre. There will also be a 400-seat auditorium for the performances. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $450,000. Mr. Arkadi Ghukasyan gave a very eloquent speech covering both the current affairs related to homeland and Artsakh in particular, as well as the key role played by Hayastan All-Armenian fund in building infrastructure while thanking all the donors for their on-going support. After his speech, Mr. Ghukasyan presented the "Medal of Gratitude" to Mr. Ara Boyajian, Armenia-Fund Board member, for his hard work at the Toronto chapter of the fund, for over 17 years. The said medal was awarded by the decision of Mr. Bako Sahakian, the current president of NKR. The fund raising drive of the evening started by the presentation of a cheque, for the amount of $3,500, which was collected by the students of Toronto Armenian schools and later by Victoria Khajavi, a 13-year old student who herself, single-handedly, had raised $2,200. At the end of the evening, the audience brought the total amount to a record $260,000, thereby passing the mid point of the required funds just in one event. Dr. Minassian, the MC, closed the evening by thanking the donors and reminding them of that beautiful day, in not so distant future, when the children and the youth of Shushi, enjoying the modern facilities of the Education and Cultural Centre, will say "Thank you Toronto". The banquet ended at a very high note with the presentation of a model replica of the 2010 Winter Olympic torch to Mr. Ghukasyan. Hayastan All Armenian Fund