The Foreign Service Journal, September 2011

S E P T EMB E R 2 0 1 1 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 51 Report from the AFSA-PAC Treasurer Dear Colleagues: I am delighted to report to you that 2010 was AFSA-PAC’s best fundraising year since 2005, and the second-best ever. Both in terms of having the resources tomeet our daunt- ing tasks on the Hill and sustaining the morale of those of us who spend a lot of time on this effort, it was a very good year indeed. In round numbers, 600 donors contributed $40,000, and the average contribution was $65.55 — almost 10 percent higher than last year. The percentage of active duty donations increased markedly over previous years, as did our support from overseas. Both develop- ments are indicators of increasing momentum and improving health. At the same time, our PAC has continued to enjoy strong and consistent support from retired members. Increasing support from our active-dutymembers — particu- larly those serving overseas — is the key to our success at a time when the congressional environment has never been more stressful or more threatening to those serving at our embassies and consulates. In 2010, we distributed $23,000 on a bipartisan basis to the chairs and senior members of the relevant authorizing and appropriating committees and subcommittees inboth the House and Senate — $12,000 went to Democrats and $11,000 to Republicans (the small imbalance will be corrected this year). In addition, we supported friends of the Foreign Service regardless of committee assignment, such as Chris Van Hollen Jr., D-Md. None of us should doubt that the debt crisis is real. Major structural reforms, I believe, are inevitable. State and evenDefense face significant budget reductions. We have a strat- egy to deal with these challenges. Our priority is people over programs. Recently, the 150 Account (international) budget has been around $55 billion. Of that, $14 billion is the “people” budget and the rest is programs. Our goal is to protect and even enhance the “people” budget. Programs can be reduced without too much damage and increased later. In contrast, any segment of our trained work force that is eliminated (for example, an Arabist) takes at least a decade to replace. Because the impact of AFSA-PAC, like similar organizations, is cumulative, we are for- tunate that we are in our 11th year of activity. We will need every asset we can acquire in the struggles we now face and will face for the next several years. Your continuing support is absolutely critical to the outcome. Respectfully submitted, Thomas D. Boyatt Treasurer, AFSA-PAC A F S A N E W S 2011-2013 Governing Board T heAFSACommitteeonElections is pleased to announce the results of the 2011-2013 AFSAGovern- ing Board election. President: Susan Johnson Treasurer: AndrewWinter Secretary: Susan Shultz Retiree Vice President: Robert Houdek State Vice President: Daniel Hirsch USAIDVice President: Francisco Zamora FCS Vice President: Keith Curtis FAS Vice President: David Mergen Retiree Representatives Molly Williamson Edward Marks Hugh Neighbour Mary Ellen Gilroy State Representatives Matthew Asada William Bent Grace Choi Mary Glantz Les Hickman Kenneth Kero-Mentz Kimberly Krhounek Elise Mellinger Joyce Namde David Zwach USAID Representatives Michael Henning Vacant FCS Representative Steve Morrison FAS Representative Andrew Burst IBB Representative Andre P. De Nesnera (in the absence of candidates, De Nesnera volunteered to represent the IBB and was appointed by the board) Congratulations to the winners, as well as to all who demonstrated their dedi- cation to AFSA by standing as candi- dates. The percentage of active duty donations increased markedly over previous years, as did our support from overseas. Both developments are indicators of increasing momentum and improving health.