The Foreign Service Journal, May 2008

56 F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L / MA Y 2 0 0 8 L ifetime advocate for Foreign Service family members Leslie Dorman was honored with the Eleanor Dodson Tragen Award on Dec. 4 during an awards ceremony held in the Benjamin FranklinDiplomatic Reception Roomof the State Department. The Tragen Award is presented annually at the Associates of the Foreign Service World- wide event, where the Secretary of State Awards for Outstanding Volunteerism Abroad are also presented (see the April Journal for details on the SOSA volunteer awards program). Daniel A. O’Donohue, president of Diplomats andConsularOfficers, Retired, presented the Tragen Award to Leslie Dorman for her decades of work for the AAFSW, her instrumental role in estab- lishing the Family LiaisonOffice and her continuous advocacy for the rights, ben- efits and welfare of FS spouses. Endowed by Mr. Irving Tragen in memory of his late wife, “Ele,” the award honors a Foreign Service spouse or Member of Household who, like Ele, advocated effectively for rights and ben- efits for FS spouses and familymembers. In creating this award, Mr. Tragen rec- ognized the contribution of spouses/life- partners who “saw injustice and worked hard to eliminate it. They saw critical gaps in coverage for families, widows and divorced people and took steps to fund remedies. They saw the family as an inte- gral part of the Foreign Service and took initiatives to promote and protect it. They became our conscience and took bold steps to goad the Foreign Service to respond to these human challenges.” Mr. Tragen, unable to attend due to weather-related flight cancellations, sent congratulatory remarks that were read by O’Donohue. The comments recalled how the efforts of his late wife, Mrs. Dorman and other spouses resulted in the issuance by State in 1972 of a “Policy on Spouses” and paved the way for establishment of the Overseas Briefing Center (1977) and the Family Liaison Office (1978). “This year’s honoree is a woman Ele admired for her energy and leadership of the AAFSWand her contribution to itsmod- ernization and expansion,” Mr. Tragen noted in his remarks. “Ele’s words still echo in my ears about Leslie’s efforts to deal with injustices in the rules and reg- ulations as well as the need to fill critical gaps in the department’s support of Foreign Service families, widows and divorced people.” Commenting on the current genera- tion of spouses/life-partners, Tragen said, “Today is as challenging to the Foreign Service spouse and family as was the ColdWar and theU.S. civil rights rev- olution,” noting that the Tragen Award is meant to stimulate action bymembers of the FS community to benefit future generations. Mrs. Dorman’s comments were punc- tuated by pungent commentary about the past, delivered in the unmistakable accents of her English upbringing. Inspired by her mother, who was a suf- fragette, Leslie Dorman was commis- sioned as a lieutenant and served during WorldWar II as a plotting officer and lec- turer at a cadet instructional school. She was working as a speech pathologist when she met her future husband, FSO Philip Dorman. They married in 1950, and she accompanied him around the world for the next 26 years. In Zambia, she was a founder of the YWCA Craft Shop, still going strong today. She traveled the country, encour- aging different ethnic groups tomake jew- elry and other items for sale. A portion of the funds helped build the YWCAhos- tel. At other posts, she produced and acted in plays. Philip Dorman retired fromthe Foreign Service in 1976, the same year Mrs. Dorman became president of AAFSW. A F S A N E W S HONORING SERVICE TO THE FS COMMUNITY Family Member Advocate Leslie Dorman Receives Tragen Award BY ANNE KAUZLARICH, DACOR EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT DACOR President Daniel O’Donohue presents the Eleanor Dodson Tragen Award to Leslie Dorman. ANNE KAUZLARICH