The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2005

JULY-AUGUST 2005 • AFSA NEWS 11 AFSA NEWS BRIEFS Seeking Marketing Director for Tales from a Small Planet The Webzine Tales from a Small Planet — www.talesmag.com— is seek- ing a marketing director to manage fundraising activities. This small non- profit organization serves the Foreign Service community and everyone else interested in “what it’s really like to live there.” Tales , founded and run pri- marily by Foreign Service family members, aims to enrich and share the experience of living abroad through Real Post Reports and literature, and to provide information and resources for expatriates around the world. The marketing position is paid on a commission-only basis, and payment is equal to 10 percent of any deposited funds from activities directly associat- ed with the fundraising work. For more information or to apply for the position, e-mail CEO Sonia Evans at sonia@talesmag.com. Call for Nominations: Outstanding Volunteers Nominations are being accepted now until Oct. 7 for the annual AAFSW/Secretary of State’s Award for Outstanding Volunteerism Abroad, known as SOSA. These awards recog- nize the outstanding volunteer activities of U.S. government employees and family mem- bers serving overseas. One winner will be selected from each of the regional bureaus, and, from these, a worldwide winner will be chosen to receive the newly established Green Global Volunteer Award. This year, both the SOSA and Green Awards will be presented at a ceremony at the Department of State in December. All winners will be flown to Washington, D.C., to receive their awards, which last year consisted of a certificate signed by the Secretary of State, a pin, and a check for $1,000. Nominations should cover volunteer activities in one or more of the following categories: exceptional service to the official U.S. community; outstanding activities directed toward the host country; and/or exceptional service during emergencies at post. Posts and individuals may submit as many nominations as they wish. Each nomination should not exceed three printed pages and should include the name of the nominee and, if a family member, the name and relationship to the direct--hire employee and position and agency. Please also include the nominator’s name, agency and a description of association with the nominee. The narrative should discuss the actions and qualities that qualify the nominee for the award, with specific examples of accomplishments that fulfill the criteria. All nominations should be mailed to: AAFSW Office, 5125 MacArthur Blvd, NW, Suite 36, Washington, DC 20016; e-mailed to: office@aafsw.org; or faxed to: (202) 362-6589. For more information call AAFSW at (202) 362-6514 or go to the Web site at www.aafsw.org/aafsw/awards.htm#sosa. Gone to Carolina Kudos fromAFSA to retiree EdWilliams and his group “Carolina Friends of the Foreign Service” for their outstanding efforts to promote the Foreign Service to their regional audiences, including the major univer- sities in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area. AFSA President John Limbert addressed this active and well- organized group in Chapel Hill on May 1, talking about “the state of the union” — current issues for retirees and active-duty employees and our efforts to carry (with their help) the message of pride in our profession. Our North Carolina colleagues publish an excellent monthly online magazine, American Diplomacy . Visit the site at: http://americandiplomacy.org. D.C. Pension Tax Relief The D.C. Council did not include pension tax relief in its 2006 budget, which included $94 million in tax breaks and $500 million in new programs. There is still a possibility for this tax relief in a second reading of the budget, however, if pension relief becomes tied to a revenue trigger (or receipt of excess revenue). Go to www.afsa.org/retiree/DCtax.cfm for councilmember telephone numbers and e-mail addresses. Memories of 1940s Moscow? Andrew Meier, former Moscow correspondent for Time magazine and author o f Black Earth: A Journey through Russia after the Fall , is doing research for an upcoming book about an American killed by Stalin in 1947. If you have recollections of any of the following people, please share them with him: Amb. Llewellyn E. Thompson Jr.; Francis Bowden Stevens; or any of three special agents: Daniel H. Clare, R.D. Clark and T.F. Fitch. Send input to andrew.meier@earthlink.net. BOOKFAIR Donations The AAFSWneeds handicrafts, artwork, coins and stamps from around the world to sell at its 45th annual BOOKFAIR. Donations may be dropped off at the book room (State Department B816) —please call first. For pick-up, or drop- off, call Virginia Jones at (202) 223-5796. From overseas, items may be pouched to the AAFSW BOOKROOM, #B816 HST. (No more book donations are being accepted.)