The Foreign Service Journal, September 2009

62 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9 introduced Deputy Secretary Lew, who, in turn, introduced Sen. Lugar. To- gether with Senator Sam Nunn, Sen. Lugar drafted the Nunn-Lugar Cooper- ative Threat Reduction Program in the early 1990s. He spoke of his high regard for Sen. Nunn before conferring on him the AFSA Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award. Award for Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy In accepting the award, Sen. Nunn made clear his high regard for America’s diplomats, pointing to “the patience, perseverance, courage, skill, experience and wisdom required to be a successful member of our Foreign Service.” Hu- morously citing possible “suspicion in the diplomatic community to see this lifetime diplomacy award go to the for- mer chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee,” he reassured the audience that he does not share Will Rogers’ definition of diplomacy as “the art of saying ‘nice doggie’ until you can find a rock.” Quick-witted, self-depre- cating and, one might even say, disarm- ing, Sen. Nunn received a warmovation. (Please see p. 40 for an interview and profile of Sen. Nunn.) AFSA Post Representative of the Year Mr. Kashkett then introduced Ken- neth Kero-Mentz , who was named the AFSA Post Representative of theYear for his intensive role in supporting AFSA members on a wide variety of issues at Embassy Berlin. Mr. Kero-Mentz took the opportunity to introduce his hus- band, David, and to express his elation on the breaking news that same-sex do- mestic partners of Foreign Service em- ployees posted abroad would now be receiving tangible benefits. (Please see p. 65 for more on this topic.) Awards for Outstanding Performance Erica Krug (Embassy Harare) won the Avis BohlenAward , bestowed on an eligible family member of a Foreign Service employee whose relations with the American and foreign communities at post have done the most to advance American interests. Ms. Krug was un- able to attend the ceremony, but Am- bassador Avis T. Bohlen, daughter of Avis Bohlen, read a statement fromMs. Krug in which she spoke of her work helping displaced and traumatized Zim- babweans in the wake of government- sanctioned attacks on members of the opposition party. Jon B. Clements, president of Clements International and son of M. Juanita Guess, presented the award in his mother’s name to Juliana G. (Lily) Hightower of Embassy Addis Ababa. The M. JuanitaGuessAward recognizes a community liaison officer who has demonstrated outstanding dedication, energy and imagination in assisting the families of Americans serving at an overseas post. Ms. Hightower’s focus has been not only on supporting Amer- icans at post, but also in encouraging a deeper understanding between local employees and the FS community. The DelavanAward was established to honor a Foreign Service office man- agement specialist who has made ex- traordinary contributions to effective- ness, professionalism and morale. This year’s winner, Megan Gallardo , is the first front-office OMS assigned to Em- A F S A N E W S AFSA Awards • Continued from page 55 The awardees get to know each other before the ceremony. Left to right: Ken Kero-Mentz, Lily High- tower, Megan Gallardo, Barron Rosen, Jeff Collins and Michael Gonzales. MIKKELA THOMPSON MIKKELA THOMPSON CHRISTINE WARREN Kenneth Kero-Mentz, right, receives the AFSA Rep of the Year Award from Interim President Steve Kashkett. Megan Gallardo (right), winner of the Delavan Award, with AFSA’s Professional Issues Coordi- nator Barbara Berger. Guess Award winner Lily Hightower displays her award, accompanied by her sons Khalil (left) and Robert. MIKKELA THOMPSON