For over 40 years, AFSA has pursued the idea that exceptional performance and behavior within the Foreign Service should be recognized and celebrated. To that end, we established an awards program that aims to spotlight Foreign Service employees for their achievements in various fields and categories. We invite you to read more about our awards and to take the time to nominate a deserving colleague. We organize an annual awards ceremony at the State Department's Benjamin Franklin Reception Room (8th floor) where we honor the winners of our dissent and performance awards as well as the AFSA post representative of the year and the winner of the Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award. The last ceremony took place on June 23, 2011. (For more information on each category, please click on the headline.)
AFSA offers awards for constructive dissent that are unique within the U.S. government. These four awards recognize those who have had the courage to stand up and disagree with a policy or management issue within the system, and have done so with integrity and the understanding that it may not always be the most popular course of action. In this category, we offer the F. Allen 'Tex" Harris Award for Foreign Service Specialists, the W. Averell Harriman Award for junior officers, the William R. Rivkin Award for mid-level officers, and the Christian A. Herter Award for senior officers.
AFSA also recognizes exemplary performance and volunteerism among Foreign Service employees and family members. The Nelson B. Delavan Award recognizes the work of a Foreign Service Office Management Specialist who has made a significant contribution to post or office effectiveness and morale beyond the framework of her or his job responsibilities. The M. Juanita Guess Award is conferred on a Community Liaison Officer who has demonstrated outstanding leadership, dedication, initiative or imagination in assisting the families of Americans serving at an overseas post. The Avis Bohlen Award honors the accomplishments of a family member of a Foreign Service employee whose relations with the American and foreign communities at post have done the most to advance the interests of the United States.
Every year, we honor one individual whose contributions to the success and progress of American diplomacy are undisputed and admired. Over the years, this award has gone to such luminaries as George H.W. Bush, Tom Pickering, Lawrence Eagleburger, George Schultz, Lee Hamilton, Richard Lugar, Sam Nunn, L. Bruce Laingen, and Rozanne 'Roz' Ridgway.
Our network of post representatives is one of AFSA's greatest assets, and during our annual awards ceremony we take the time to highlight one post rep whose colleagues have nominated them for this award. The post rep of the year should be someone who is highly visible and effective at their post, acts as a dedicated liaison between staff and post management, and who efficiently and consistently conveys important information - both from AFSA and other sources - to post staff.
The mastering of a foreign language is one of the requirements for achieving tenure in the Foreign Service. These awards honor those who have exhibited particular dedication, adeptness and ease with hard languages, whether during their time at the Foreign Service Institute or on their own. Nominations come from the field and from FSI instructors.
AFSA is proud to sponsor this award, which honors the best writing by a State Department employee at the National War College. Clear and concise writing is one of the greatest skills a Foreign Service employee can master, and we are enthusiastic supporters of this modest award, names after a man whose concisely and persuasively written cables literally changes our foreign policy.
Contact Information
All of these awards are administered by AFSA's Coordinator for Special Awards and Outreach, Perri Green. You can reach Perri at green@afsa.org or by phone at 202-719-9700.