The Foreign Service Journal, June 2004

JUNE 2004 • AFSA NEWS 5 onlinegroupwouldallowspousestocom- municate with others in their field and share information and opportunities. Supporting spouses’ efforts to work free-lance, telecommute and start their own businesses abroad. Through the Internet, freelancing, telecommuting and creating a business abroad are real and attractive career pos- sibilities for today’s FS spouses. However, State policies concerning independent work are often confusing andmisunder- stood, as are local laws at post. SUGGESTIONS :Management should encourage these ambitions by offering high-speed Internet service in govern- ment housing, allowing spouses touse the embassy mail system for their business- es on a limitedbasiswhere the localmail system is unreliable and providing local legal advice. In addition, spouses could be offered training courses in portable skills, such as technical writing andWeb design. A general course in “operating a freelance business abroad” covering rules and regulations would show sup- port, boost morale and help spouses expand their horizons. Providing high-speed Internet access in all embassy/consulate housing worldwide. A fast, reliable Internet connection is as important as a telephone (ormore so) inmanyForeignServicehomes. Beyond e-mails andWeb surfing, the Internet is essential to Foreign Service children for completing school work and to many spouses for pursuing long-distance learn- ing programs, free-lancework, telecom- muting options ormanagement of their own businesses. SUGGESTIONS : To avoid lost work and educational opportunities and the frustrationassociatedwith slow, sporadic Internet service, missions could provide high-speed service in the form of dedi- catedservers,Wi-Fi hotspotsorpre-nego- tiated contracts with local providers. Liveliners also suggested embassies hire more IT personnel, including EFMs, to handle the increased workload and establishclear guidelineson technical sup- port to ensure the service would not be abused. Considering Internet access as a key factor when choosing new hous- ingwill help create housing pools that fit theneeds of today’s ForeignService fam- ilies. Providing easier, more direct access to unclassified materials relating to families. Currently, unclassifiedmaterials con- cerning spouse and familymatters aredif- ficult to obtain as they are either on the Intranet or buried in the State DepartmentWeb site. Although Intranet kiosks are popping up at missions worldwide, some spouses find them inconvenient tousewhen the Internet is available at home. SUGGESTIONS : Management should reorganize Intranet information and post it on a new Internet site (i.e., http://families.state.gov) or give more prominence to FLO’s Web site. This would reduce frustrating andoften fruit- less searching. Giving preference to spouses on the Foreign Service officer candi- date register. Qualified spouses who, without help or special treatment, pass thewrittenand oral exams and medical, security and other clearances andwho are already on the candidate register shouldbe givenhir- ing preference. Tandem couples save State money (i.e., housing) and these spouses are a “sure thing” since they are already in the Foreign Service commu- nity and their spouses are employed. FLO’s efforts in this area have been so far unsuccessful. Leslie Ashby —mother, free-lance writer/editor and Foreign Service spouse — currently lives in Montreal with her husband Stephen, a second- tour officer, and their one-year-old daughter. both from Embassy Kampala. Runner-up: Charlotte Davnie, Embassy Vilnius. The Delavan Award , for extraor- dinary contributions to effectiveness, pro- fessionalism and morale by an Office Management Specialist: Mary Jo Fuhrer, Embassy Luxembourg; and Jenny A. Jeras, Embassy Kabul. Runner-up:MargaretR.Gray, Embassy Riyadh. The M. Juanita Guess Award , for outstanding service as a Community Liaison officer assisting American fam- ilies serving at an overseas post: Susanne A. Turner, Embassy Bishkek. Runners-up: Janne Hicks, Embassy Manama; and Tahmina Islam Novak, Embassy Colombo. AFSA ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS The AFSA Achievement Awards honor AFSA members (active and retired) for their significant contributions toAFSA and itsmembers during the past year. Post Reps of the Year: David Jesser, Pretoria. Randy Kreft, Moscow. Member Achievement Award: Ambassador Edward Dillery. AFSA greatly appreciates the efforts of all those who sent in nominations or served on a panel this year. A warm thank you also goes to Director General W. Robert Pearson for co-sponsoring our annual awards ceremony, which is open to any employee wishing to attend. Articles about the award winners will appear in the July/August issue of AFSA News. ▫ Awards • Continued from page 1 TSP Open Season Don’t forget that opensea- son for the Thrift Savings Plan ends June 30. Go to your human resources office or www.tsp.gov fo r more information.