The Foreign Service Journal, April 2005

APRIL 2005 • AFSA NEWS 3 our activities is challenging. With respect to the statistical metrics, 2004 was a very good year indeed. Most importantly, the number of colleagues supporting AFSA-PAC increased robust- ly from 577 to 802. Participation is crit- ical, andwe hope to pass the 1,000-donor mark in 2005. Even that magic number would be somewhat under 10 percent of our membership. Message: We have a lot of room to grow. Total contributions increased in pro- portion with the increase in donors. During 2004 we gave almost $50,000 to senators and representatives on the Authorization and Appropriations Committees and/or members who are established friends of the Foreign Service. As required by our bylaws, distributions were divided equally between represen- tatives of the two parties. On the situational front, the “evi- dence” is necessarily anecdotal. Two examples are illustrative of the progress being made. Recently AFSA Executive Director Susan Reardon and I (as assis- tant treasurer and treasurer of the PAC, respectively) attended amajor dinner for the supporters of a very important com- mittee chairman on the House side. As he was making his rounds the chairman approached us, smiled broadly and said, “I am glad to see the Foreign Service is here.” That is exactly the recognition we seek. In the same vein, Senator Richard Lugar invited me as a PAC officer to be on the host committee of his initial fund- raiser for the 2006 campaign. These are not earthshaking events in and of them- selves, but as they accumulate, they become a large force multiplier. The officers and advisory committee members of AFSA-PAC continue to work hard to make the best use of your generous support, for whichwe aremost grateful. I close with AFSA-PAC’s mantra: Constituency-building is cumu- lative over time in its impact. We hope manymore colleagues will join us in these efforts, addingmomentum to the signif- icant progress made in our first three years. ▫ AFSA-PAC • Continued from page 1 AFSA’S DAY ON THE HILL On-site or Virtual, AFSA Needs Your Voice At last, you don’t have to be in Washington,D.C., toparticipate inAFSA’s Dayon theHill. This yearAFSAis expand- ing its efforts to discuss critical Foreign Service and retiree issues with key sena- tors and representatives duringourDayon the Hill program on Thurs- day, May 5. We plan to present AFSA’s views on State Depart- ment appropriations and pay disparity for service abroad, aswell as Federal Employee Health Benefit Planhealth coverage par- ity for retirees and active-duty employees. As in past years, active-duty and retiree members and their spouseswill go toCapitolHill for face-to-face visitswith theirhome state sen- ators, representatives and staffs. In addi- tion, AFSA asksmembers who are unable to come to D.C. to coordinate efforts and make their views known on May 5 through letters, e-mails, faxes or telephone calls to their senators and representatives inWashingtonor theirhomedistrict offices. We also encourageAFSAmembers tovisit thedistrict offices of their senators and rep- resentatives. AFSA will provide background infor- mation and position statements on the Foreign Service and retiree issues on our Web site (www.afsa.org) an d in the April Retiree Newsletter and other mailings. Sample letters and informationabout how tomake contact withCongresswill alsobe posted on our Web site and on a special “Dayon theHill”Web site (www.afsa.org/ dayonthehill/index.cfm). Whether or not you can be present in Washington for Day on the Hill, you can be an effective voice for educating and energizing Congress on Foreign Service issues. So please join your colleagues on May 5 in D.C. or at home. In doing so youwill helpmaximize AFSA’s impact on Congress and make this Day on the Hill the most successful yet. For more infor- mation, contact Austin Tracy by e-mail: tracy@afsa.org, or by phone: (202) 338- 4045, ext. 506. MIKKELA THOMPSON Foreign Affairs Day • Continued from page 1 Whether or not you can be present in Washington for Day on the Hill, you can be an effective voice for educating and energizing Congress on Foreign Service issues. So please join your colleagues on May 5 in D.C. or at home.