The Foreign Service Journal, September 2016

70 SEPTEMBER 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS Coordination and Community: Enhancing Relations in the Dominican Republic THE NELSON B . DELAVAN AWARD FOR A FORE I GN SERV I CE OF F I CE MANAGEMENT SPEC I AL I ST TONI KULA Toni Kula is an ideal recipi- ent of the Nelson B. Delavan Award, according to her colleagues. As the ambas- sador’s office management specialist (OMS), she has made exceptional contribu- tions to U.S. Embassy Santo Domingo, both in her official role and in her extensive vol- untary work supporting the embassy community. Ms. Kula has built excellent relationships with colleagues across agencies, as dem- onstrated by the number of people who supported her nomination for this award. She has consistently dis- played high-quality perfor- mance in a challenging office. When the embassy hosted a VIP visitor in 2015, Ms. Kula’s planning and coordina- tion between U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the consular section’s Immigrant Visa Unit, public affairs and the front office enabled the visit to go without a hitch. The visitor and his staff were highly complimentary of the professionalism and effi- ciency of the process. In presenting the award, AFSA Retiree Vice President Ambassador Thomas Boyatt acknowledged the tremen- dous contributions OMSs make to U.S. missions world- wide, as well as recognizing Ms. Kula personally. As the embassy’s Federal Woman’s Program Coordi- nator, Ms. Kula organized a widely praised film screening that highlighted the serious problem of sex trafficking in the Dominican Republic. The film was shown to a broad cross-section of Dominican students, entrepreneurs and government officials. Ms. Kula has enhanced mission morale and the welfare of all of its employees and family members by plan- ning activities ranging from the holiday children’s party to organizing yoga classes. When accepting the Nelson B. Delavan Award, Ms. Kula, a self-described Foreign Service brat, spoke of the importance of building a community while overseas. She encouraged the staff and families of Embassy Santo COURTESYOFTONIKULA Toni Kula visits an orphanage outside Santo Domingo, where the embassy community delivered toys and much-needed supplies for the children. COURTESYOFTONIKULA Toni Kula coordinates embassy volunteers cleaning up Guibia Beach, Dominican Republic. Domingo to deliver toys and supplies to an orphanage and to donate shovels, garbage bags, hand sanitizer and their free time to clean up one of the dirtiest beaches in the Dominican Republic. Following a spate of high- level visitors and generator outages that had shut down operations for days and brought down mission morale, Ms. Kula organized an afternoon ice cream social at which the ambas- sador and deputy chief of mission scooped ice cream and served cake to express appreciation to embassy employees. Not forget- ting the embassy community’s four- legged friends, she also established Patitas Unidas (United Paws), an embassy group focused on animal care and rights. Ms. Kula’s flex- ibility and cheer- ful willingness to do any task has helped advance mission goals and the well-being of the embassy com- munity. Ms. Kula joined the Foreign Service in 2002 and has served in San Jose, Paris, Panama City andWashington, D.C. She is currently posted in Santo Domingo. n AFSA EXEMPLARY PERFORMANCE AWARDS