The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2022

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2022 69 AFSA NEWS recordings of these webinars at afsa.org/video. Closing the day’s events, AFSA co-hosted a Foreign Service Day reception with DACOR later that evening in the garden of the historic DACOR Bacon House. The event featured live music and dinner, offering guests the chance to meet retired and active-duty members of the Foreign Service. AFSAGoverning Board Meeting, May 18, 2022 The board met in person on May 18 at the DACOR Bacon House. Resignation: The board accepted Foreign Commercial Service Vice President Jay Carreiro’s resignation as he prepares to go on assignment overseas, and appointed Charles Ranado to serve as the new FCS vice president, with Mr. Carreiro serving as the alternative representative. LCAD Award: The Governing Board adopted the Awards and Plaques Committee recommendation for AFSA’s 2022 Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy award. The board further voted to modify the award’s criteria to include the stipulation that nominees should not currently be employed in senior positions in government service. Committee Members: The board approved the appoint- ment of five members recommended to serve on the Committee on Elections. n AFSA Social Media Campaign Leveraging Foreign Ser- vice Day as an opportunity to inform the American public about the work of U.S. diplo- mats, AFSA’s outreach team launched a special social media campaign. AFSA asked members to post messages on Twitter and Facebook during the week of May 2, conveying AFSA co-hosts a Foreign Service Day reception with DACOR in the garden of the historic DACOR Bacon House. JENIFERMORRISPHOTOGRAPHY “Why I Serve” in the Foreign Service and how that com- mitment relates to Ameri- cans. Participants were asked to use the hashtags #Why- IServe and #ForeignService- Day and to tag @afsatweets on Twitter and @afsapage on Facebook. AFSA members responded, generating 37,000 tweet impressions on Twitter and reaching 48,000 people on Facebook during the week. “#WhyIServe is to be a leader in advancing the distribution of food and agricultural products around the world, which is a vital step toward increasing global nutrition and reducing world hunger,” tweeted Kyle U.S. embassy staff in Belgrade observe a moment of silence to honor fallen colleagues on Foreign Service Day. Bonsu, an international trade specialist with the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. “Representing U.S. agricul- ture abroad is an absolute privilege and joy.” “#WhyIServe – because helping promote free and fair Ukrainian elections almost 20 years ago planted the seeds of freedom that flour- ish in Ukrainian hearts today,” said retired FSO Julie Nutter in another tweet. Social media has proven to be a useful tool for broadening AFSA’s public outreach, particularly with newer and younger audi- ences. Please keep helping us raise awareness by continuing to use the #WhyIServe hashtag. n U.S.EMBASSYBELGRADE