The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2010

The Avis Bohlen Award FOR A FOREIGN SERVICE FAMILY MEMBER Anne Bridgman F oreign Service spouses often face a difficult choice: play the role of “diplomat’s spouse,” or find their own identity out- side of the embassy. Anne Bridgman, the spouse of the chargé d’affaires in Bratislava, doesn’t waste time with this paradox. Her purpose at post is simply to help others. “I’ve always believed in giving back to the community in which I live,” she explains, “and being the spouse of a Foreign Service officer doesn’t change that view.” In Bratislava, the volunteer work that Bridgman, who is departing Slovakia this month, has carried out is multifaceted. One of her main activities has been organizing donations and visits to the DePaul-Slovensko shelter for the homeless, including asking the Slovak military to donate surplus blankets. She also has fond memories of a Christmas Eve dinner there. “I got holiday CDs out of my car and the director put them on a boombox, and the environment turned merry,” Bridgman recalls. “Embassy and expatriate children stuffed clothing and sundries into individual bags for each resident, and then we served a traditional Slovak dinner. The residents were very touched.” On several occasions, Bridgman organized groups to spend a day doing physical work with the volunteer initiative “Our Bratislava.” One Saturday, embassy staff worked alongside Slovak citizens landscaping and painting a group home south of the city. Bridgman and her daughter Laurel spent hours walking and playing with abandoned dogs at the city animal shelter. She helped in the classroom at her daughter’s school, reading weekly with non-English speaking children. She and a teacher orga- nized volunteer outings and purchased gifts with fundraiser monies for children in orphanages. She also put together a gar- den-planting afternoon at a homeless shelter. “The children loved doing something very hands-on, while the shelter benefit- ed from having a supply of fresh vegetables for the summer,” she reports. Bridgman “treats everyone with respect, kind- ness and genuine warmth, exhibiting the best face of America overseas without condescen- sion,” says Consul Simon Hankinson. It’s not surpris- ing that this is the second time that Bridgman has won the Avis Bohlen award. The first time was for volun- teer work that she carried out in Moscow in 1995. Adds Hankinson: “When you see someone like Anne, who just stops worrying about why and pitches in where she sees someone hurting, it makes you realize that you could really do just a little bit more.” ❏ A F S A N E W S J U L Y - A UGU S T 2 0 1 0 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 67 The Nelson B. Delavan Award FOR A FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICE MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST Allie Loraine Almero A bout a year ago, Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne estab- lished the Office of the Coordinating Director for Development and Economic Affairs, bringing all U.S. government foreign assistance to Afghanistan under one sec- tion at Embassy Kabul. This new office had to be integrated into the embassy structure, with new clearance procedures developed. Enter Allie Almero. Almero came in two months after the office was established and took charge. Explains Amb. Wayne, “Allie worked tirelessly, establishing an efficient tracking system and paper-flow process.” Her systemwas so effective that “the executive secretary recently asked for her input to create a new task management system for the embassy.” Almero is never content to work just a 9-5 job. She volunteered to serve as the deputy con- trol officer for the visit of Deputy Secretary of State Jacob Lew, revising schedules, keeping tabs on tasks fromWashington and working shifts in the control room. She assisted Dep. Sec. Lew’s chief of staff in editing and transmitting documents, and contin- ued with follow-up after the visit. Says Amb. Wayne, “Allie did all of this without missing a stitch in supporting me and my office, and she won written kudos from the deputy secretary and a wide range of others working on the visit.” Almero again volunteered to help when Secretary of State Hillary RodhamClinton and Ambassador Richard Holbrooke visited. She attended all countdown meetings, revised schedules, worked in the control room and served as site officer for Amb. Holbrooke’s meetings with embassy staff. She also facilitated the Secretary’s meeting with civilian and military officers from around Afghanistan, preparing the meeting room and working with the management team to set up the equipment needed. Not surprisingly, Almero is now the “go-to” person for all senior-level official visits. Colleague Robyn Davis says, “Allie is someone who inspires us all to do the best job pos- sible every minute of every hour of every day!” Deputy Coordinating Director for Develop- ment and Economic Affairs Katherine Hadda agrees. “Allie's ability to organize us and keep our spirits up represents the best of the Foreign Service, and makes working in this hardest of posts a lot easier for everyone.” Says Wayne, “In making these and many other outstanding contributions, Allie has worked 14-hour days, six-and-a-half days a week, demonstrating great dedication and the highest commit- ment to excellence.” ❏ 2010 AFSA OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE AWARD WINNERS Allie Almero, right, withU.S. Army Major Ty Short, in Sayadebad, Afghanistan, April 6. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton greets Almero and other staffers in Afghan- istan, November 2009. Left to right: Almero, Robyn Davis, Linda Landers, Ixta Gonzalez and Karen Trimble. AMBASSADOR TONY WAYNE Anne Bridgman and her daughter Laurel Eddins at Sloboda Zvierat animal shelter near Bratislava May 14. PETRA GAJDOSIKOVA DANIEL WILKINSON