The Foreign Service Journal, September 2006

2006 AFSA AWARD CEREMONY AFSA Honors Dissent and Performance BY SHAWN DORMAN American Foreign Service Association • September 2006 AFSA NEWS n June 22, AFSA welcomed several hundredpeople to the StateDepartment’sBenjamin Franklin Diplomatic Recep- tionRoomtohonor this year’s awardwin- ners. The prestigious and unique AFSA DissentAwards, theLifetimeContributions to American Diplomacy Award, the OutstandingPerformanceAwards and two SpecialAchievementAwardswerepresent- ed at the ceremony. AFSAPresident J.AnthonyHolmesoffi- ciated. Inhisopeningremarks,Holmes said that“Speakingoutagainstconventionalwis- dom and offering an alternative and per- haps controversial viewon policy or oper- ational issues can be risky. It can jeopar- dize one’s career. However, AFSA firmly believes that it is vital tohonor the construc- tive and creative dissenterswho arewilling to work within the system to bring about change.” Ambassador Holmes shared a quote fromAmbassadorMortonAbramowitz,the honoree for the Lifetime Contributions to AmericanDiplomacyAward:“Abramowitz stated inanarticle in National Interest mag- azine last year titled ‘In Defense of Striped Pants’ (writtenwith another of our distin- AFSA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL ESSAY CONTEST Ceremony Awards Talented and Passionate Youth BY EIRENE BUSA, EDITORIAL INTERN O n July 19, State AFSA VP Steve Kashkett presented the 2006 AFSA National High School Essay Contest awards during the annual Youth Awards Ceremony held in the State Department’s Benjamin Franklin Diplomatic Reception Room. DirectorGeneral of theForeignService George M. Staples delivered the keynote address, and Family Liaison Office Director AnnDeLong officiated. The annual ceremo- ny is a joint endeavor of ASFA, the Foreign ServiceYouthFoundation, the Family Liaison Office, the Foreign Service Institute and the Office of Overseas Schools. “The individuals behind the scenes at FLO and the volunteers at FSYF ultimately make each year’s ceremo- ny successful,” commented FSYF President Blanca Ruebensaal. FOREIGN SERVICE CHALLENGES AHEAD AFSA Meets with Secretary Rice S ecretaryofStateCondoleezzaRicedis- cussed the challenges of staffing Iraq PRTs,overseascomparabilitypayand pay for performance, improving the senior performance pay system, transformation- al diplomacy and the future of the Foreign Service during a July meeting in her office with AFSA President J. Anthony Holmes, State VP Steve Kashkett and General Counsel Sharon Papp. Inside This Issue: VP STATE: A TALE OF TWO CULTURES...............................67 FOREIGN SERVICE DOMESTIC FIELD REPS ....................68 AFSA PRESENTS “WISH LIST”.........70 THE SYSTEM AND YOU ...................74 AFSA/TLG INTERN............................75 O S E P T EMB E R 2 0 0 6 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 65 See Wish List on page 70 Continued on page 73 Continued on page 76 Continued on page 69 Essay winners Eva Lam (right) and Karina Legradi with AFSA State Vice Pesident Steve Kashkett. Mikkela Thompson