Opening Ceremony of Building 7

The Opening Ceremony of the newly renovated  Building 7 (also known as Bulgarian Language and Literature Building) took place on the sunny Saturday morning of October 1. Among our special guests were Dr. Roger Whitaker, President of the ACS Board of Trustees, Mr. Ken Moskowitz, Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Sofia, as well as representatives from the companies that completed the project.

In his opening remarks Dr. Paul K. Johnson, President of ACS, thanked first and foremost ASHA for their generous donation of 300,000 USD and making the renovation possible. He acknowledged the success of the Bulgarian Language and Literature Department that has its classrooms in the building. ACS students have a tradition of ranking high on Bulgarian language and literature competitions, not the least on the matriculation exams. The building hosts additionally the popular External Programs Office, offering language courses to children and grown-ups outside ACS since 1997. 

A special thank you went to Mr. Toshko Kolev, managing director of Balkanstroy for his and his team’s professionalism in seeing the renovation project through, as well as to Ms.Agnesa Lineva, consultant for the project!

Mr. Ken Moskowitz emphasized ACS’ importance with its rich history, talented staff and successful students and pointed out that since the reopening in 1992, the American government has funded numerous projects at ACS, amounting to an impressive 3 million USD.

Dr. Roger Whitaker, Ms. Maria Angelova, Dr. Paul K. Johnson, and Ms. Roumyana Rangelova, head of the Bulgarian Language and Literature Department joined forces in cutting the ribbon, while Dr. Johnson alone managed the Bulgarian custom of splashing out lucky water down the stairs.

We join Dr. Paul K. Johnson in his wishes for good luck to all who are to enter and enjoy the bright classrooms of the renewed Bulgarian Language and Literature Building.