The Foreign Service Journal, March 2012

50 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 T he past year was dominated by concern over how to counter a rash of congressional pro- posals aimed at severely reducing or elimi- nating federal benefits as a means of reducing the federal deficit. Despite a difficult political environment, AFSA continued to work hard to protect its members’ earned benefits. Over the past year, AFSA worked as a member of the Federal and Postal Union Coalition (comprising more than two dozen federal organizations) to send a barrage of letters tomajor decisionmak- ers —members of Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, and the White House — during all significant stages of debt reduction discussions. AFSA provided retireemembers with assistance and counseling in more than 300 cases, including workmen’s com- pensation claims resulting from expo- sure to Agent Orange during the Viet- namWar, survivor annuities, Medicare and Federal Employees Health Benefits coordination, and department services. Retiree VP Bob Houdek and AFSA retiree Governing Board representatives also worked actively and successfully to increase retiree membership. Retiree Services continued to publish the bimonthly AFSA Newsletter for Retirees and Members in Transition , which provides members with concise information on de- partment policies, explanations of benefits and news on the debt-reduction process. We also regularly updated the Re- tiree Web page on AFSA’s Web site, further giving members access to essential information. Early in the year, AFSA President Susan Johnson and Retiree Coordinator Bonnie Brown traveled to Florida to speak at a meeting of the Foreign Serv- ice Retirees of Florida. In November, AFSA held a reception to honor retired FSO James Iso, who had just received the Congressional GoldMedal for his service inWorldWar II. Mr. Iso is a Japanese-American who, along with his family, was sent to an in- ternment camp after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. After leaving the camp, Mr. Iso enlisted in the Military Intelli- gence Service, where he served with great distinction. Following the war, he served in the ForeignAgricultural Serv- ice until his retirement. In 2012, Retiree Services will inau- gurate the AFSAMemorial Marker Pro- gram, which has been developed to give appropriate recognition to the careers of Foreign Service personnel and their family members. Retiree Services: A Broad Agenda B Y B ONNIE B ROWN , C OORDINATOR FOR R ETIREE C OUNSELING AND L EGISLATION Congressional Gold Medal awardee and retired Foreign Service officer James Iso with Bonnie Brown, AFSA’s co- ordinator for retiree affairs, at AFSA’s reception honoring Mr. Iso on Nov. 3. DONNA AYERST DONNA AYERST Recent retirees enjoy AFSA’s reception honoring their service. Newly retired employees gather at AFSA’s reception, held at the close of the Foreign Service Institute’s retire- ment seminars. DONNA AYERST