The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2015

74 JULY-AUGUST 2015 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS Each May, the State Depart- ment, the American Foreign Service Association and other organizations team up to hold Foreign Affairs Day. And each year, hundreds of Foreign Service alumni return to Foggy Bottom to participate in the day’s homecoming activities. This year, the May 1 event marked 50 years since the first Foreign Affairs Day—long known as Foreign Service Day—was organized to recognize and appreciate the dedication of America’s diplomatic professionals. Secretary of State John Kerry, en route to Sri Lanka at the time, recorded opening remarks thanking the brave members of the Foreign Service “who spend their careers trying to ensure that our country does the right thing for other people in other parts of the world in a smart way.” The day’s agenda included policy seminars with senior officials, an open house with AFSA and other Foreign Service support organizations, an official luncheon in the department’s Benjamin Franklin Diplomatic Reception Room and the annual AFSA Merit Awards Reception. Foreign Affairs Day Turns 50 AFSA Coordinator for Special Awards and Outreach Perri Green welcomes the parents of David Collins. From left: AFSA Secretary Angela Dickey, Green, Janice Collins and Bernard Collins. AFSA/JOAQUINSOSA AFSA/JOAQUINSOSA AFSA/JOAQUINSOSA AFSA President Robert J. Silverman (left) opens the 83rd AFSA Memorial Ceremony, during which the names of Rayda Nadal and David Collins were added to the AFSA memorial plaque. Under Secretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy (right) read the names as they were unveiled. Following the ceremony, Under Secretary Kennedy (right) meets with the parents of Rayda Nadal, Jimmy (left) and Rayda Nadal (center). two new names—David Col- lins and Rayda Nadal—to the 245 already listed. In his remarks at the ceremony, AFSA President Robert J. Silverman offered his condolences: “To the family and friends of David and Rayda, I express our deepest sympathy for their losses and our enduring gratitude for their service. … They and their work will be remembered by us and will continue to inspire us as we pass daily by this wall dedicated to them and our other fallen colleagues.” Immediately preceding the ceremony, AFSA hosted an intimate breakfast for the Collins and Nadal families in solemn appreciation of their sacrifices. Lagos-based David Collins drowned on April 28, 2014, after being overtaken by a powerful undertow during an embassy outing to the beach. Rayda Nadal, a Foreign Ser- AFSA Memorial Wall The AFSA Memorial Cer- emony honoring fallen mem- bers of the Foreign Service has become a hallmark of Foreign Affairs Day (though the memorial plaques, located in the department’s C Street Lobby, date back to 1933). This year, AFSA added