Turkish Cultural Center New Hampshire Turkish Cultural Center New Hampshire
The 4th Annual Friendship Dinner & Award Ceremony – November 16, 2015
On Monday, November 16th, the Turkish Cultural Center-New Hampshire hosted their 4th Annual Friendship Dinner & Awards Banquet. This year’s event was held at the Puritan Backroom Conference Center. There were more than 130 guests in attendance, including several State Legislators, academicians and community leaders. The evening started with a moment of silence for those who lost their lives during the terrorist attacks in Ankara, Beirut and Paris. Christine Hunt, was the MC for the evening, her command of the Turkish language was very helpful. Attorney General Joseph Foster gave a brief talk on praising the Turkish Cultural Center on their activities and how TCC helped him to know more about Turkey and Turkish culture and Rep. Jack Balcom spoke about his recent trip to Turkey, praising the country’s hospitality and great history. This year’s keynote speaker was author/Prof. Zeki Saritoprak, his speech title was “Why Violence is UnIslamic: A Case for the Hizmet Approach” spoke on the importance of peace and harmony in the world and the Hizmet Movement’s contirbution.
This year’s award recipients were: Bill Shaheen, Maria Devlin, Jeffrey Rose, and Chris Kelley. Turkish calligraphy artist Aydin Cayir impressed the guests with his talent and presented each guest with a personalized gift at the end of the night. New to the event this year was a silent auction, where several pieces of fine Turkish pottery was auctioned off. Each guest received a special coffee mug to remember the evening.
Photo Credits: Becky Field, Fieldwork Photos www.fieldworkphotos.com
