The Foreign Service Journal, March 2012

46 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A R C H 2 0 1 2 ANNUAL REPORT American Foreign Service Association 2011 A F S A N E W S Providing historical perspectives and personal experiences, AFSA’s speakers give audiences the opportunity to consider the complex international order of the 21st century, including the fact that many Foreign Service officers now serve in dan- gerous conflict areas around the globe. Audiences included members from world affairs councils, think-tanks, civic or- ganizations, town meeting participants, and students from high schools, universities and adult education programs. In February, Ambassador Ronald Neumann presented a talk tomore than 300 individuals at the Lyndon Baines John- son School at theUniversity of Texas,Austin. Amb.Neumann, who recently served as U.S. ambassador toAfghanistan, clearly explained andwarned of the critical necessity of sustaining re- sources for U.S. diplomacy and development despite the cur- rent budgetary climate. He provided his audience with “in- sider” viewpoints on the political and military challenges NATO forces face in stabilizing the country. Speakers addressed many other topics, consistently stress- ing the vital role the Foreign Service plays in advancingAmer- ica’s security, economic and development interests around the globe. Audiences were urged to contact their members of Congress to request increased funding for diplomatic readi- ness and development programs. AFSA’s book, Inside a U.S. Embassy , was highlighted as a further resource on how our Foreign Service works. Media AFSA expanded its media outreach in 2011, preparing 41 press releases for nationwide news outlets. We placed, either directly or through AFSA retirees, 31 letters to the editor, op- ed columns, fact sheets and articles advocating increased pub- lic and congressional support for U.S. diplomacy in media including Federal Times , Washington Post , Congressional Quar- terly , Roll Call , CNN and the Associated Press. In September, AFSA President Susan Johnson, Govern- ing Board member Matthew Asada and AFSA staff were in- terviewed on NPR’s “Kojo Nnamdi Show” to discuss a potential government shutdown and other Foreign Serv- ice–related topics. The annual Memorial Plaque Ceremony, held at the State Department as part of Foreign Affairs Day, received solid treatment via some 11 media entities nationwide. AFSA On the Web B Y Á SGEIR S IGFÚSSON , M ARKETING AND O UTREACH M ANAGER A FSA officially launched its new Web site on Feb. 28, 2011, bringing innovations and eas- ier access to our members. The new features were one-click address updates, easier navi- gability, clearer menu options, social media integration and online donation capability. While that alone would have represented a banner year for AFSA on theWeb, we are not stopping there. We have big plans for 2012, with some great new ways for members to connect with AFSA. In conjunction with the new Web site, we launched a new platform for our AFSAnet e-mail messages. It allows us to send messages in HTML format, making themmuch easier to read. We can embed images, videos and links to enhance our messaging. And we can target our messages to a specific group within our ranks of members. This en- sures that we don’t overload our members’ inboxes with messages that are not pertinent. In 2011, we sent more than 80 AFSAnet messages, some to our entire member- ship and others to targeted populations. The most popular pages on our Web site remained largely the same: the Foreign Service Journal , the National High School Essay Contest, AFSA scholarships, member guidance, Inside a U.S. Embassy , retiree services and our membership section. A new entry into 2011’s top 10 most- visited pages was our Foreign Service blogs page, which we update regularly based on feedback from the field. Finally, we added Web and IT Assistant Jeff Lau to our team. His technical and graphic skills have greatly improved the look of the AFSA Web site, as well as our online and hard-copy promotional materials. DIANE VOGEL (L to R) Tom Switzer, director of communications; Ian Houston, executive director; Susan Johnson, president; Kojo Nnamdi, WAMU host; and Matthew Asada, AFSA Governing Board member and FS officer, in WAMU studios, discuss life in the Foreign Service since 9/11.