The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2017

58 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS Consent Agenda: The Governing Board approved the consent agenda items, which were: (1)approval of the Oct. 5 Governing Board meeting minutes; (2) acceptance of Jeff Cochrane’s resignation as USAID representative; (3) appointment of Ann Posner as USAID representative; (4) appointment of Steve Herman as BBG representative; (5) appointment of Ann Posner and Haven Hubbard-Cruz to the USAID Standing Committee; and, (6) acceptance of Tracy Whittington’s resignation from the Editorial Board and Todd Andrews’ resignation from the Awards and Plaques Committee. Dissent Guidance: Retiree Vice President Ambas- sador Tom Boyatt presented guidance on dissent award criteria (“What Is Dissent?”) to the board for approval. With no objection, the requested guidance was approved and will be provided to the Awards and Plaques Committee to assist them in selecting recipients for AFSA’s unique dissent awards. FS Grievance Board: On behalf of the Executive Committee, Amb. Boyatt moved that the Govern- ing Board approve the nomination of David Clark as a presiding member of the FSGB. The motion was approved. 2017 Budget: On behalf of the Finance, Audit and Management Committee, AFSA Treasurer Ambas- sador Charles Ford moved that the board adopt the proposed budget for 2017. The motion passed unanimously. On behalf of the FAM Committee, Amb. Ford also moved that membership dues be increased by 1.5 percent in 2017. The motion was approved unanimously. n AFSA Governing Board Meeting, November 2, 2016 AFSAWelcomes New BBG Representative AFSA is pleased to wel- come Steve Herman as the new Broadcasting Board of Governors representative on the Governing Board, confirmed at the Nov. 2 meeting. Mr. Herman is the senior diplomatic correspondent for the Voice of America and has been a VOA bureau chief in India, Korea and Thailand. He previously served as president of the Foreign Correspon- dents’ Club of Japan and is currently an elected governor on the board of the Overseas Press Club of America. n Steve Herman. AFSA/SHAWNDORMAN REMI NDER – 20 1 7 H I GH SCHOOL ESSAY CONTEST The American Foreign Service Association’s National High School Essay Contest has begun! The contest winner will receive $2,500, a trip to Washington, D.C., to meet the Secretary of State and full tuition for a Semester at Sea edu- cational voyage. The runner-up receives $1,250 and full tuition for the National Student Leader- ship Conference’s International Diplomacy sum- mer program. AFSA welcomes the continuing support of our fantastic contest partners: The United States Institute of Peace, Semester at Sea, and the National Student Leadership Conference. Eligibility for AFSA’s 2017 National High School Essay Contest is limited to high school students of U.S. citizenship, in grades 9-12, whose parents are not members of the Foreign Service. The deadline for entries is March 15, 2017. Full details of the contest, including this year’s essay topic, are available from the AFSA website: www.afsa.org/essay. n NEWS BRIEF