The Foreign Service Journal, September 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 63 AFSA NEWS In the Office or Broader Community, Carol Backman Is Indispensable AFSA EXEMPLARY PERFORMANCE AWARDS : THE NELSON B . DELAVAN AWARD FOR A FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICE MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST When any of the more than 1,000 staff at Embassy Ankara had a dilemma— whether they were U.S. direct hires, family members or local staff members—they typically turned to Office Management Specialist Carol K. Backman for help. One col- league described her as “the most competent, hard-work- ing and generous Foreign Service professional I have had the pleasure to work with in my career.” As OMS at Embassy Ankara, Backman, winner of this year’s Delavan Award, used her exemplary com- puter skills and management skills, “combined with her unbounded spirit,” according to her nomination, to make an impact on the mission community. She took ownership of the post’s contact management database, identified incon- sistencies and overhauled it. She then trained others to manage the program and ran missionwide troubleshooting sessions. As a result, Embassy Ankara became one of the first 10 missions worldwide to implement a single con- tact database management platform for the entire mis- sion. She also streamlined all management files and then shared her skills in Share- Point, Excel and Word with anyone who asked. “I have always believed that my job was to do whatever made the lives of those around me easier. I might not know how to do something, but I certainly know how to find out,” Backman says. “Backman’s willing- ness to solve problems, and serve the commu- nity in any way she can, is called upon daily,” her nomination states. “Trouble figuring out the Turkish mail, banking reg- ulations or bus routes…? Carol has the answers, or will get them for you.” Her voluntary contribu- tions to the broader com- munity are also impressive. Under her leader- ship as chair, the Embassy Recre- ation Association was transformed. The ERA’s man- agement now has a real understand- ing of the organi- zation’s financial standing for the first time in nearly a decade, and was able to give the CLO a budget for morale-boosting events and pro- vide support to locally employed staff affected by the furlough. “I am particularly honored to be the recipient of this award because of the award’s focus on community,” says Backman. She joined the For- eign Service at the age of 22, immediately after graduating from college. “The Foreign Service has been all I have ever known in my adult life, and the mem- bers of the Foreign Service are my family,” she says. My husband is in the Foreign Service…and my friends are all Foreign Service. It is truly my home.” Carol Backman’s husband, Tom, is a career informa- tion management specialist, and they have a 4-year-old daughter. She has previously served in Kuala Lumpur, Minsk and Canberra. n Office Management Special Carol K. Backman, center, with her family at the AFSA Awards Ceremony on June 18. Far right, at Embassy Ankara, directing database training. AFSA/JOAQUINSOSA COURTESYOFCAROLBACKMAN