The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2014

10 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL A Fond Farewell ot long after you read these words, we will have to look our friend and longtime AFSA colleague, Steve Honley, square in the eye and warmly wish him a fond farewell. Reflecting on that sad task only reinforces our firm conviction that Steve’s influence on this publication has been profound, and will be felt for many years to come. Of the many positive attributes Steve possesses, we would spotlight two in particular: his commitment to the prin- ciple of stewardship, and the unique care he has demonstrated for the written word. As a good steward of AFSA’s flagship publication, The Foreign Service Journal , for nearly 15 years (12½ of them as its editor- in-chief), Steve has consistently been a responsible, highly detail-oriented planner and manager of resources. That same work ethic carries over to his care for the integrity of the written word, and his daily advocacy for the health, welfare, maintenance and protection of the Journal . We have seen Steve’s sincerity up close, and admire and respect that about him. As managers, we know that type of authen- ticity is indispensible in an employee. In his final editor’s note, Steve has graciously thanked his colleagues on the Journal staff for their support and hard work. As usual, he is the first to draw attention to the team and the roles each member plays. This team will continue to engage The Foreign Service Journal ’s readership and AFSA members. With the able leadership of former FSO Shawn Dorman—now associate editor and director of FS Books, who is moving up to become editor-in-chief—and Senior Editor Susan Maitra, in a reconfigured publications group under the inspired guidance of Director of Communications Kristen Fernekes, the Journal will continue to break new ground. Yet before that future arrives, we must pause to embrace our colleague and friend, and give him a heartfelt sendoff. There can be no doubt that AFSA and The Foreign Service Journal are losing one of the finest editors our organization has known, or will ever know. And on a personal level, we will deeply miss Steve, and wish him all the best in his future endeavors. —Executive Director Ian Houston and President Robert J. Silverman and see for yourself the substantial improvements we are making to our online presentation. Lead articles are now much easier to copy and share, and we hope you’ll do just that! Unlike nearly all my AFSA colleagues, I’m a stubborn holdout on joining the Facebook generation. (Similarly, I’ve been accused of being a twit, but have yet to tweet.) But I am nonetheless pleased to invite you all to join the 5,250 others who (as of Dec. 15) have “liked” The Foreign Service Journal Facebook page, where you’ll find links to timely new Journal articles. We always welcome submissions from AFSA members, whether to fit a focus topic, serve as a standalone feature, or go into one of our regular departments. For more details, I invite you to consult the author guidelines on our website (www.afsa. org/fsj), which describe all the options and spell out the basic requirements (length, format, etc.) for each. Please note that all N submissions must be approved by our Editorial Board and are subject to editing for style, length and format. If you have any questions about the submission process, need to change your mailing address, or want to give a subscription to a friend or family member, please contact us at journal@afsa.org. We will be delighted to respond. Ave Atque Vale Janus is being quite persnickety about revealing what lies ahead for me, but I can promise this much: I will always be an avid reader of the Journal , and a staunch supporter of AFSA and the Foreign Service. And who knows? You just might see my byline somewhere in these pages at some point. Happy trails! Steve n