The Foreign Service Journal, June 2007

AFSA Receives Large Contribution to Scholarship Fund The AFSA Scholarship Fund has received the final disbursement, of $102,800, from the Naomi Pekmezian Trust. Since 2005, the Naomi Pekmezian estate has made three contributions to AFSA, totaling over $162,000. Ms. Pekmezian, a retired FSO, died in November 2005 at the age of 95. She was instrumental in developing the Turkish Basic Language course at the Foreign Service Institute during the 1960s. The course was later developed into a textbook and audiotapes that are still in use today. The generous financial contributions from Ms. Pekmezian to AFSA will ben- efit Foreign Service families for years to come. 54 F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L / J UN E 2 0 0 7 A F S A N E W S Staff: Executive Director, Acting, Ian Houston: houston@afsa.org Business Department Controller Twee Nguyen: nguyen@afsa.org Accounting Assistant Jon Reed: reed@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 Director Janet Hedrick: hedrick@afsa.org Representative Cory Nishi: nishi@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 AFSA E-MAIL: afsa@afsa.org FSJ: journal@afsa.org PRESIDENT: holmes@afsa.org STATE VP: kashkettsb@state.gov RETIREE VP: 42reuwash@earthlink.net 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/news How to Contact Us: Governing Board: PRESIDENT: J. Anthony Holmes STATE VICE PRESIDENT: Steven Kashkett USAID VICE PRESIDENT: Francisco Zamora FCS VICE PRESIDENT: Donald Businger FAS VICE PRESIDENT: Vacant RETIREE VICE PRESIDENT: David Reuther SECRETARY: Tex Harris TREASURER: Andrew Winter STATE REPRESENTATIVES: Alan Misenheimer, Hugh Neighbour, Joyce Namde, Randy Steen, Daphne Titus, Andrew Young, Andrea Tomaszewicz and Sandy Robinson USAID REPRESENTATIVE: Mike Henning FCS REPRESENTATIVE: William Center FAS REPRESENTATIVE: Robert Curtis IBB REPRESENTATIVE: Al Pessin RETIREE REPRESENTATIVES: Leonard J. Baldyga, Roger Dankert, Larry Lesser and Gilbert Sheinbaum Life in the Foreign Service n BY BRIAN AGGELER AFSA NEWS BRIEFS AFSA/USAID’s Publishing Venture Pays Off Following the disappearance of the USAID newsletter FrontLines in the spring of 2006, AFSA heard many com- plaints from FS members who missed the publication. AFSA was told that FrontLines had ceased publication because all USAID publications were undergoing a review. To fill the void, AFSA/USAID established a new publication, The Vanguard , in order to keep employees updated on what is happening inside the agency and in the field. After the release of the second edition of The Vanguard in May, AFSA/USAID heard from agency management that FrontLines will begin publishing again in June and received quiet praise for the successful pressure on the agency to restart the publication. Due to the positive response to The Vanguard , AFSA/USAID intends to keep publishing it, with a focus on human interest stories fromUSAID officers in the field. Send story ideas and photos to fzamora@usaid.gov .