AFSA NEWS 54 JULY AUGUST 2024 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL She also raised ongoing challenges with the pace of confirming promotion and tenure lists, ambassadors, and other high-level positions as well as budget constraints arising from cuts to the international affairs budget in Fiscal Year 2024. O’Gorman shared the good news that because of AFSA’s focus on statelevel advocacy for Foreign Service pension tax exemptions, mirroring benefits given to the military, some progress has been made in Virginia, Maryland, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Rhode Island. Sullivan and O’Gorman reminded the audience that member outreach and engagement is crucial in advancing AFSA’s statelevel initiatives. A recording of the event is available at https://bit.ly/4alIj53. Although Secretary of State Antony Blinken was attending meetings overseas on May 3, he reflected on the legacy of the Foreign Service in his prerecorded FS Day message, saying: “Many of the challenges we face today—from shaping the use of artificial intelligence, to tackling the threat of a warming planet—would have been unimaginable to America’s first diplomats, or even those who served a few decades ago. You’ve developed more specialties and served in more places, because that is what serving our nation today demands. ... So, wherever and however you serve, I’m grateful for Author Harry Kopp signing copies of the newly released centennial edition of The Voice of the Foreign Service. AFSA/JOAQUIN SOSA your hard work and I’m proud to call you colleagues.” Foreign Service Day festivities concluded at DACOR Bacon House, where 230 attendees were welcomed for an evening of music and refreshments. n Continued from page 49 Springtime revelry in the courtyard of DACOR Bacon House. AFSA/JOAQUIN SOSA
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