The Foreign Service Journal, September 2017

74 SEPTEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS Behind the Scenes at the AFSA Election Consent Agenda: The Governing Board approved the consent agenda items, which were: (1) acceptance of the resignation of Awards and Plaques Committee members Daniel Martinez, Patricia Norland, BridgetteWalker and Chair Annie Pforzheimer; (2) appointment of Kalpna Sri- mal as AFSA-PAC keeper of the records. FSJ Editorial Board: On behalf of the Editorial Board, State Representative Kara McDonald moved that the Governing Board approve the six candidates recom- mended to be Editorial Board members, and four candi- dates to be backup members. The motion was approved. Without objection, current board member Eric Green was approved as the new chair of the Editorial Board. Scholarship Donors: The Governing Board reviewed proposed internal policy guidelines for donors to the AFSA Scholarship Fund. Following discussion, the policy guide- lines were approved. n AFSAGoverning Board Meeting, June 7, 2017 AFSAGoverning Board Meeting, July 5, 2017 This meeting was the final one for the 2015-2017 Governing Board. Standing Committees: AFSA President Ambassador Barbara Stephenson requested that members of the standing committees (listed in the bylaws) remain in place until the new Governing Board reviews committee membership. Special Committees: As per AFSA bylaws, Amb. Stephen- son moved that the board discharge the special commit- tees established under the 2015-2017 Governing Board— they are the Governance; Executive; Finance, Audit and Management; and Awards & Plaques Committees. The motion was adopted. Thanks: Amb. Stephenson thanked departing members of the Governing Board for their service to AFSA and to the Foreign Service. n Member Services Representative Natalie Cheung (second from left) and Executive Director Ian Houston (right) process AFSA Governing Board election ballots received by mail at the AFSA headquarters building. On the morning of June 8, members of the AFSA Committee on Elections gathered to count the votes cast in the 2017-2019 AFSA Governing Board election. Following closure of the online voting platform at 8 a.m., a committee mem- ber collected the paper ballots from a post office nearby and sorting began at approximately 9:30 a.m. at AFSA headquarters. All votes were checked to ensure they fulfilled the requirements for eligibility. Only two ballots were chal- lenged as unclear. The committee mem- bers worked meticulously to ensure there were no irregularities in the process. Preliminary results were available around 1 p.m., and the final tallies were announced to the member- ship on June 9. In total, 4,130 ballots were cast this year: 3,152 online and 978 on paper, an increase in voter turnout from the 2015 election. This figure represents 25 percent of AFSA members eligible to vote. AFSA thanks Commit- tee on Elections members Susan W. Wong (chair), Harold ‘Lee’ Brayman, Mort Dworken, Christopher R. Green, Francis A. Hall, David C. McFarland, Peter J. Mol- berg and Curt Whittaker, for their hard work throughout the election process. A full breakdown of the 2017-2019 election results can be found at www.afsa. org/results-2017-2019-afsa- governing-board-election. n AFSA/GEMMADVORAK