The Foreign Service Journal, April 2014

10 APRIL 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL FS Life” (May 2011); “When the USSR Fell: The Foreign Service on the Front Lines” (December 2011); and “An Undervalued Resource: Foreign Service Nationals/Locally Employed Staff” (June 2012). The variety of those subjects illus- trates how effectively the Journal evolved during Steve’s time to broaden the scope of topics beyond what had been the traditional focus. We will greatly miss his remarkable talents and good humor, and at the same time look forward to the next stage of the Journal’ s journey. The best of luck to the new team—you have huge shoes to fill. Tibor Nagy Jr. Ambassador, retired Lubbock, Texas In doing so, they showed understand- ing of the importance of our contribu- tion to the organization as a whole—not merely the functional tasks Foreign Service specialists carry out, but the fact that we, too, represent the essence of the institution. For that special understand- ing, my colleagues and I will always be grateful. I wish Steve well in his future endeav- ors. Moreover, I wish new Editor-in-Chief Shawn Dorman the same and look for- ward to working with her on future initia- tives. I have every confidence that she will lead the Journal superbly for many years to come. Timothy C. Lawson Senior FSO, retired Hua Hin, Thailand n A Fond Farewell I was both surprised and saddened when I read the January-February Editor’s Let- ter, a fond but wistful adieu from Steve Honley. Steve has indeed served as an outstanding Journal editor for as long as I can remember. He and his Journal colleagues always provided strong encouragement and support to my efforts to showcase the vital role both management and information resources management officers and spe- cialists play in steering the global mission and institutional focus of the Foreign Ser- vice. Both Steve and his successor, Shawn Dorman, gave us, and me as an author, an opportunity to display that role by sharing a stage traditionally reserved for an incan- descent cast of Foreign Service VIPs.