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New Staff
In January, AFSA welcomed new Retiree Counselor Todd Thur-
wachter. A Wisconsin native, Thurwachter is a retired FCS offi-
cer who served in Japan, China and Germany. He brings a strong
client-service orientation, gained from counseling and assisting
thousands of U.S. exporters over the years. As a Foreign Service
retiree himself, he has a personal understanding of the challenges
faced by retirees. He enjoys supporting, counseling and advocat-
ing for AFSA’s retired members and is keen on developing new
areas to add membership value for retirees.
AFSA Newsletter
The
AFSA Newsletter,
a regular bimonthly publication, delivers
the important and relevant content our members have come to
rely on in retirement and when transitioning into retirement.
This year we improved the look and style of the newsletter, mov-
ing to a new electronic version that is more user-friendly and
easily accessible. Re-
tiree members will also
continue to receive a
hard copy of the
AFSA
Newsletter
in the mail.
AFSA
Merchandise
AFSA is proud to have
developed the first U.S.
Foreign Service Com-
memorative Coin in
2014. The coin rec-
ognizes the dedica-
tion and service of our
members. We hope
members will enjoy
sharing it with their foreign affairs contacts, family and friends.
The silver-finish, 1.75-inch diameter coin has the Great Seal on
one side and the AFSA logo and slogan on the other.
Members may also enjoy displaying their affiliation by proudly
wearing the AFSA lapel pin. The .75-inch hard enamel gold finish
pin with logo design recessed and color-filled blue can be securely
fastened to a lapel or scarf.
In addition, the AFSA Medallion recognizes the careers and
contributions of Foreign Service personnel and their spouses and
partners. You can purchase these items through AFSA’s new on-
line store: ams.afsa.org/eweb/.
AFSA Memorial Tribute
Finally, we are pleased to have begun development of a perma-
nent online memorial tribute site to honor colleagues who have
died. The memorial tribute site will allow members to search for
names of the deceased, leave a brief comment in the guestbook
and make a donation in the deceased’s name. Family members
may take comfort in knowing that their loved ones are not for-
gotten by their friends and colleagues. The memorial tribute site
will include a brief bio, the member’s picture, and links to online
obituaries when known. The site will be accessible to AFSA mem-
bers in early 2015 and available by logging into the AFSA website:
www.ams.afsa.org/eweb/. This is a new initiative, and we expect
the number of tributes and photographs to increase over time as
members contribute content and information.
l
Jeannie Singleton speaks on federal long term care and survivor
annuities at one of AFSA’s federal benefits events in July 2014.
Professionalism and Ethics Committee:
(from left) Jennifer
Becker, Susan Johnson, Robert Dry, Eva Groening, David
Brownstein. (
Not pictured:
Alec Augustine-Marceil, Anne Bodine,
Tanya Cole, Angela Dickey, Amb. Charles Ray.)
U.S. Foreign Service Commemorative
Coin introduced in 2014.