The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2016 85 AFSA NEWS AFSAGoverning Board Meeting, May 4, 2016 April Governing Board Minutes: On a motion from State Vice President Angie Bryan, the board unani- mously approved the April 6 Governing Board minutes. PAC Liaison: The April board meeting recommended that, as a precaution to avoid violating Hatch Act rules, a retiree board member should be the liaison to AFSA’s Political Action Committee. Retiree Representative Ambassador (ret.) Pat Butenis volunteered to take on the role of liaison. A motion to appoint Amb. Butenis as liaison to the PAC was proposed by Retiree Repre- sentative Ambassador (ret.) John Limbert. The motion passed unanimously. FSGB Nominees: In a two-step process, the Governing Board was asked to approve AFSA’s nominees to the For- eign Service Grievance Board and, separately, to approve two nominees put forward by the other parties. 1–AFSA’s nominees to the FSGB. The Governing Board was asked to consider the recommendations of the Executive Committee for AFSA’s nominees to the Foreign Service Grievance Board. On a motion from State representative Eric Geelan, the board unani- mously approved four candidates to be recommended to the FSGB selection committee. 2–Other parties’ nominees to the FSGB. Retiree Vice President Ambassador (ret.) Tom Boyatt moved that the Governing Board accept Ambassador (ret.) Lino Gutiérrez and Frederick Ketchum to fill two of the three FSGB vacan- cies. The motion passed unanimously. n At the Governing Board retreat on June 2, State Representative Leah Pease leads a review of their previous year in office, with Retiree Representative Dean Haas facilitating. Board members also discussed goals for the future of AFSA. Considering the presidential elections in November, the board set out their message to the new administration—whoever it may be—“Use us, Trust us, Invest in us”. AFSA/SHAWNDORMAN Governing Board Retreat AFSA BEGINS LEGACY PROJECT: DIGITIZATION OF THE FSJ ARCHIVE AFSA is embarking on an ambitious project to digitize the entire archive of back issues of the Foreign Service Journal , as well as The American Con- sular Bulletin that preceded it. This digital archive, dating back to 1919, will be a valuable resource for AFSA members. In addition, we hope to be able to make the archive available to researchers and scholars seeking information about the U.S. Foreign Service and American diplomacy. Phase I of the project—scanning all back issues and creating optimized digital files—has begun, and should be completed by August-September. We hope to complete Phase II—providing access to the files—before the end of the year. We will keep you informed as the project progresses. n NEWS BRIEF