The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2005

JULY-AUGUST 2005 • AFSA NEWS 7 Delavan Award FOR A FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICE MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST Nancy Alain I t was a lucky day for Embassy Baghdad when Nancy Alain arrived as the first management section office management specialist for the new embassy. Nancy Alain has received the 2005 Nelson B. Delavan Award for her extraordinary perfor- mance in this job. Working conditions could not have been more difficult: long hours and a seven-day workweek, punctuat- ed by rocket and mortar attacks, and an office she had to set up under a stairwell. “Nancy brought order out of chaos,” states her nomination for the Nelson B. Delavan Award, “and creativity and energy to her job. But more importantly, she brought a contagious enthu- siasm to build an embassy like one the world has never seen before …” She became a key conduit for information and assis- tance to the endless stream of palace personnel (about 4,000 at last count) including not only the regular foreign affairs agency employees but uniformed military, private security contractors, Iraqi employees and others, many of whom had never been in an American embassy before. As stated in her nomination, Alain “graciously guided this diverse and ever-changing population through a bureaucratic and institutional maze.” One of the many extraordinary things she did was to guide the efforts by the Iraqi interim prime minister to establish an executive secretariat. She developed flow charts and sample forms, memos and letters, which were used by the new office. In order to assist wounded U.S. soldiers who were hospitalized, she launched an e-mail cam- paign to provide entertainment options for them, resulting in a generous world-wide response that enabled the presentation of two new DVD players and over 300 DVDmovies to the wounded. As one Air Force commander wrote in an unsolicited com- mendation of Alain’s contributions: “Nancy’s drive, talent and interpersonal skills have enabled our respective staffs to work together smoothly, efficiently and professionally, in what is the most hostile and demanding operational environment in the world. There are many in uniform here who have never before worked with an embassy, and for them, Nancy is the State Department. You simply could not ask for a better representa- tive.” The Foreign Service is Nancy Alain’s third career, and follows 26 years as a civil engineering project coordinator in the private sector and several years as an executive assistant at three different universities. In 1995, while serving as executive assistant to the vice provost of Columbia University, Nancy Alain got the call from the Foreign Service and hasn’t looked back. She has served in Tegucigalpa, Dhaka, Bujumbura, Tallinn and Baghdad, and will head next to Algiers.  Nancy Alain with Ambassador John Negroponte in Baghdad. M. Juanita Guess Award FOR A COMMUNITY LIAISON OFFICER Catherine McSherry and Marilyn Tarter C atherineMcSherry andMarilyn Tarter, serving as the communi- ty liaison office team for Embassy Bangkok, were selected for the 2005 M. Juanita Guess Award for, among other accomplishments, their extraordinary work respond- ing to the December 2004 tsunami disaster and aftermath. Immediately after the tsunami struck the Thai coast, McSherry and Tarter beganmobilizing community resources to cope with the tragic event. They organized volunteers to assemble and distribute donations of essential items to tsunami victims: Americans, Thais and others. McSherry and Tarter recruited volunteers to visit the injured in hospitals, assist them with passport and consular needs, as well as bring books, clothing and cell phones for contacting relatives in the U.S. They helped create a kind of “free store” in the American Citizen Services section of the consular section. They mobilized the community to donate blood. The CLO office served as the clearinghouse for all information and activities dealing with the disaster, and McSherry and Tarter are credited with maintaining high mission morale and a strong sense of community during this critical time. Tsunami relief was not the only significant contribution made by this outstanding CLO team. Their other accomplish- ments include: improving the integration program for post new- comers; conducting an assessment of special-needs educational opportunities in Bangkok for prospective bidders; and organiz- ing events and activities to help build stronger bonds between the official American community and the large FSN community. They also played a key role supporting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings that culminated in a presiden- tial state visit. “Marilyn and I love working together as a team alongside our outstanding FSN CLO Assistant Khun Jeed,” says McSherry. “It’s great to receive recognition for doing something we find so reward- ing.” Catherine McSherry was born in Florida. She met her husband, Foreign Agricultural Service officer Rod McSherry, while both were working in Moscow in 1989. They have two sons. In addition to Moscow and Bangkok, they have been posted to Mexico City and Caracas. Marilyn Tarter was born and raised in Idaho and is married to Army Col. Dan Tarter. They have two children. They have been in Thailand for seven out of the last 12 years and this is her fourth year as CLO. Previous postings include Chiang Mai and Aschaffenburg, and their next assignment is to Rangoon.  Tarter and McSherry as “Siamese CLOs,” at an FSN costume party in Bangkok. AFSA’S 2005 OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE AWARD WINNERS These awards honor exemplary performance and extraordinary contributions. Stories by Shawn Dorman. Tarter with then-Secretary of State Powell and FSN Khun Jeed in January 2004.