The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2020

64 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS AFSA Plants Cherry Tree in Memory of COO Russ Capps AFSA/CAMERONWOODWORTH AFSA/CAMERONWOODWORTH AFSA AFSA President Eric Rubin speaks on the front lawn of AFSA headquarters at a tree planting ceremony on Nov. 7. The ceremony was held to honor former AFSA Chief Operating Officer Russ Capps, who died on Aug. 19 at age 54. AFSA employees and members place seeds next to the weeping cherry tree planted in honor of former AFSA COO Russ Capps. Russ Capps. Support AFSA’s Legal Defense Fund As a result of the remark- able outpouring of sup- port from both the Foreign Service community and the American public, the AFSA Legal Defense Fund stood a t $418,465 in mid-december. Some 2,176 donors from across the nation contrib- uted an average of $192. Drawing from these resources, the AFSA Govern- ing Board recently approved $133,000 in reimburse- ments to the private attor- neys representing Foreign Service members who testi- fied before the House Intelli- gence Committee investigat- ing events in Ukraine. We expect to receive additional reimbursement requests in the coming months from these and other Foreign Service mem- bers. We therefore renew our appeal for donations to the AFSA Legal Defense Fund. Donations may be made online at www.afsa.org/ donate or by mailing a check made out to “AFSA Legal Defense Fund” to AFSA, c/o LDF, 2101 E Street NW, Washington DC 20037. Additionally, we encour- age AFSA members to share that link with a brief appeal for support on your own social media pages (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.). Active-duty members, please remem- ber that computers or other resources may not be used to fundraise. AFSA’s mis- sion is to defend the Foreign Service as a nonpartisan corps of career professionals who serve the United States and honor their oath to the U.S. Constitution. If, in the course of their duties, our members get drawn into legal matters of institu- tional importance to the Foreign Service, AFSA believes that they and their families should not suffer personal financial ruin in order to pay bills for legal representation. Any AFSA member who has been, or expects that he or she may be, called to testify in the Ukraine matter should contact AFSA immediately. Email afsa@state.gov to be con- nected to an AFSA attorney. Requests for assistance are reviewed by the five-mem- ber LDF Committee and must be approved by the AFSA Governing Board. n