The Foreign Service Journal, March 2008

52 F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L / MA R CH 2 0 0 8 A F S A N E W S Y E A R I N R E V I E W AFSA Annual Report 2007 JANUARY A generous gift of $750,000 is made to the AFSA Scholarship Fund from the estate of BrockmanM. Moore (augmenting the October 2006 gift of $157,000). This com- bined gift of $907,000 is the largest AFSA Scholarship Fund contribution ever received. AFSAmoves quickly in the first days of the 110th Congress to send letters to each mem- ber of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the newly renamed House Foreign Affairs Committee, following up with personal contacts to staff. The 71 members of Congress who serve on these committees hear fromAFSA on key issues such as FS staffing, resources and pay modernization. AFSA seeks State Department action to allevi- ate the tax burden placed on administrative and technical staff overseas, noting that the Foreign Affairs Manual allows the issuance of diplomatic privileges to them in the case of “substantial financial inequities.” AFSA/Elderhostel offers its first program on “The Rise of China.” The program is an immediate success and sells out four times over the calendar year. Over 1,300 members take part in a sur- vey to identify the “Best andWorst Foreign Service Posts,” this month’s Foreign Service Journal cover story. AFSA presents the Sinclaire Language Award—$1,000 and a certificate of recognition— to 11 members of the Foreign Service for superior achieve- ment in the study of hard languages and their associated cultures. FEBRUARY AFSA says farewell to long-serving Executive Director Susan Reardon. Once again, AFSA protests the procedures used by the Resource Management Bureau to recover overpayments and outstanding debts. In many cases these debts result from travel performed as much as five years earlier. AFSA again urges the State Department not to move travel and transportation offices out of the Truman Building’s service corridor. AFSA arranges for four senior retirees to explain the role of the Foreign Service to pro- fessional audiences attending the Johns Hopkins University’s prestigious “Evergreen” lecture series. The AFSA Scholarship Fund receives the final disbursement of $102,866 from the Naomi Pekmezian estate. AFSA received $10,000 from the estate in April 2006 and $50,000 in November 2005. AFSA/USAID expresses concern to the USAID administrator and members of Congress about the lowUSAID operating expenses request for Fiscal Year 2008 (15 per- cent lower than the FY06 actual). AFSA/USAID and InterAction jointly prepare an analysis of the last 25 years of OE funding showing marked historical declines (published in the FSJ ). The final OE bud- get approved is significantly higher than what was request- ed. AFSA officers meet with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker. With the unveiling of the president’s Fiscal Year 2008 budget request for international affairs spending, AFSA engages Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and House Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., on the key questions of staffing, pay modernization and operating expenses for State and USAID. MARCH AFSA President J. Anthony Holmes attends the South and Central Asian Affairs Bureau entry-level employee conference in Sri Lanka, makes presentations andmeets with new Foreign Service members. AFSA/State protests the new, more restrictive rules for participation in the Student Loan Repayment Program. AFSA identifies and urges correction of an error in which the Human Resources Bureau informed some members that letters of criti- cismwould remain in their performance files for two years, rather than the one year required by the precepts. An AFSA/Elderhostel program is held at a new location, the Savoy Suites Hotel on Wisconsin Avenue. AFSA holds six weeklong Elderhostel programs at this location in 2007, in addition to four one-day programs. AFSA/FCS files midterm proposals, including one to renegotiate the so-called “Seven-Year Rule” that calls for certain FCS officers to be assigned to domestic Export Assistance Centers for a two-year period sometime dur- Staff: Executive Director John Mamone: mamone@afsa.org Business Department Controller Twee Nguyen: nguyen@afsa.org Accounting Assistant Cory Nishi: nishi@afsa.org Labor Management General Counsel Sharon Papp: papps@state.gov Labor Management Attorney Zlatana Badrich: badrichz@state.gov Labor Management Specialist James Yorke: yorkej@state.gov Grievance Attorneys Neera Parikh: parikhna@state.gov and Holly Rich: richhe@state.gov Office Manager Christine Warren: warrenc@state.gov USAID Senior Labor Management Adviser Douglas Broome: dbroome@usaid.gov USAID Office Manager Asgeir Sigfusson: asigfusson@usaid.gov Member Services Member Services Director Janet Hedrick: hedrick@afsa.org Member Services Representative Michael Laiacona: laiacona@afsa.org Web-site & Database Associate: vacant Administrative Assistant Ana Lopez: lopez@afsa.org Outreach Programs Retiree Liaison Bonnie Brown: brown@afsa.org Director of Communications Thomas Switzer: switzer@afsa.org Congressional Affairs Director Ian Houston: houston@afsa.org Executive Assistant to the President Austin Tracy: tracy@afsa.org Scholarship Director Lori Dec: dec@afsa.org Professional Issues Coordinator Barbara Berger: berger@afsa.org Elderhostel Coordinator Janice Bay: bay@afsa.org AFSA HEADQUARTERS: (202) 338-4045; Fax: (202) 338-6820 STATE DEPARTMENT AFSA OFFICE: (202) 647-8160; Fax: (202) 647-0265 USAID AFSA OFFICE: (202) 712-1941; Fax: (202) 216-3710 FCS AFSA OFFICE: (202) 482-9088; Fax: (202) 482-9087 AFSA WEB SITE: www.afsa.org FSJ: journal@afsa.org PRESIDENT: naland@afsa.org STATE VP: kashkettsb@state.gov RETIREE VP: pamichko@aol.com USAID VP: fzamora@usaid.gov FCS VP: donald.businger@mail.doc.gov AFSA News Editor Shawn Dorman : dorman@afsa.org (202) 338-4045 x 503; Fax: (202) 338-8244 On the Web : www.afsa.org/fsj How to Contact Us: Governing Board: PRESIDENT: John Naland STATE VP: Steve Kashkett USAID VP: Francisco Zamora FAS VP: Vacant FCS VP: Donald Businger RETIREE VP: Robert W. Farrand SECRETARY: F.A. “Tex” Harris TREASURER: Andrew Winter STATE REPS: Anne Aguilera, Oscar DeSoto, David Firestein, Jim McRea, Sandy Robinson, Shayna Steinger, Daphne Titus, Andrea Tomaszewicz USAID REP: Michael Henning FCS REP: Stephen Anderson FAS REP: Vacant IBB REP: Al Pessin RETIREE REPS: Herman Cohen, Harry Geisel, David Passage