The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2003

2 AFSA NEWS • JULY-AUGUST 2003 AFSA NEWS BRIEFS AFSA Achieves Success for Retirees AFSA has been urging State to give Foreign Service retirees the same annuity deduction options as Civil Service retirees. We have had success on this for AFSA dues, CFC donations, long-term care premiums and sav- ings bonds. What was still pending until recently was Medicare B premi- ums, which required more software. The condition from Medicare was that at least 20 annuitants had to request it. AFSA put the word out to retirees, which resulted in 50 requests to State. Because of this, State will soon offer such allotments. AFSA is pleased to have achieved this success on behalf of current — and future — retirees. New Staff at AFSA AFSA welcomed two new staff members in May, Steven Tipton and Bonnie Brown. Steven has joined the AFSA staff as our accounting assistant. He is a graduate of the University of South Alabama and currently enrolled at the University of Maryland as an accounting major. Bonnie Brown has taken over responsibilities for AFSA liaison with retirees as the retiree activities coordinator. Bonnie is an attorney and Foreign Service spouse with many years of distin- guished service overseas. AFSA Building Constituency for the Foreign Service The mission of the Fund for American Diplomacy, a nonprofit organization coordinated by AFSA, is to build a domestic constituen- cy for the Foreign Service. It does this by conducting outreach and education programs throughout the U.S. For the first time in 2002, the FAD participated in the Combined Federal Campaign, the federal employee workplace fund drive. With reporting from 80 percent of the more than 430 individual campaigns that comprise the federal CFC, pledges to the FAD total $7,000. Of that, $5,000 came from the National Capital Area CFC (Washington, D.C.-area) while the remaining $2,000 was donated from folks across the U.S. and over- seas. Given that pledges are just that, the FAD should expect to receive about 80 percent of any pledge figure as individuals can stop their CFC deduction at any time (and for any reason, including change of employment). The CFC contributions to the FAD illustrate that there is an inter- est in supporting public affairs initiatives that stress the importance of America’s leadership role abroad. The FAD will continue to par- ticipate in the CFC and offer programs such as Elderhostel and AFSA’s Speakers Bureau. For more information on the Fund for American Diplomacy, con- tact Lori Dec at 1 (800) 704-2372, ext. 504 or dec@afsa.org. Briefs continued on page 12 Life in the Foreign Service ■ BY BRIAN AGGELER, FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER & CARTOONIST Staff: Executive Director Susan Reardon: reardon@afsa.org Business Department Controller Kalpna Srimal: srimal@afsa.org Accounting Assistant Steven Tipton: tipton@afsa.org Labor Management General Counsel Sharon Papp: papps@state.gov Labor Management Attorney Zlatana Badrich: badrichz@state.gov Labor Management Specialist James Yorke: yorkej@state.gov USAID Senior Labor Management Advisor Douglas Broome: dbroome@usaid.gov USAID Office Manager Suzan Reager: sreager@usaid.gov Grievance Attorneys Harry Sizer: sizerhs@state.gov, an d Neera Parikh: parikhn@state.gov Office Manager Christine Warren: warrenc@state.gov Member Services Director Janet Hedrick: hedrick@afsa.org Representative Lindsay Peyton: peyton@afsa.org Administrative Assistant Ana Lopez: lopez@afsa.org Outreach Programs Retiree Liaison Bonnie Brown: brown@afsa.org Director of Communications Thomas Switzer: switzer@afsa.org Congressional Affairs Director Ken Nakamura: nakamura@afsa.org Corporate Relations/Executive Assistant Marc Goldberg: goldberg@afsa.org Scholarship Director Lori Dec: dec@afsa.org Professional Issues Coordinator Barbara Berger: berger@afsa.org AFSA HEADQUARTERS: (202) 338-4045; Fax: (202) 338-6820 STATE DEPARTMENT AFSA OFFICE: (202) 647-8160; Fax: (202) 647-0265 USAID AFSA OFFICE: (202) 712-1941; Fax: (202) 216-3710 AFSA Internet and E-mail addresses: AFSA WEB SITE: www.afsa.org AFSA E-MAIL: afsa@afsa.org AFSA NEWS: afsanews@afsa.org FSJ: journal@afsa.org PRESIDENT: naland@afsa.org STATE VP: cranelk@state.gov RETIREE VP: farrand@member.afsa.org USAID VP: jpastic@usaid.gov FAS VP: afsafas@fas.usda.gov FCS VP: peter.frederick@mail.doc.gov AFSA News Editor Shawn Dorman : dorman@afsa.org (202) 338-4045 x 503; Fax: (202) 338-8244 On the Web : www.afsa.org/news How to Contact Us: Governing Board: PRESIDENT: John K. Naland STATE VICE PRESIDENT: Louise K. Crane USAID VICE PRESIDENT: Joe Pastic FCS VICE PRESIDENT: Peter G. Frederick FAS VICE PRESIDENT: Edwin Porter RETIREE VICE PRESIDENT: Robert W. Farrand SECRETARY: F.A. “Tex” Harris TREASURER: Thomas D. Boyatt STATE REPRESENTATIVES: Pamela Bates, John P. Boulanger, George W. Colvin, Roy Perrin, Lynn G. Sever, John Weis USAID REPRESENTATIVE: Woody Navin FCS REPRESENTATIVE: James Joy RETIREE REPRESENTATIVES: William C. Harrop, David E. Reuther, Richard C. Scissors, Theodore S. Wilkinson, III IBB REPRESENTATIVE: Vacant FAS REPRESENTATIVE: Eric Wenberg “I SEE WHY THEY CALL IT THE PARIS OF FRANCE.”