The Foreign Service Journal, October 2004

Hallock Scholarship A perpetual Financial Aid Scholarship, the Col. Richard R. Hallock Memorial Scholarship, was established by Mrs. MyriamHallock in her late husband’s memory. His distinguished military career spanned 25 years. Serving in bothWorldWar II and the Korean War, he was the youngest-ever major to serve as a battalion commander and earned 23 medals and/or commenda- tions and the Legion of Merit. He helped to campaign successfully to introduce the M-16 rifle into the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps. His civil- ian achievements included being an adviser to Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger in the mid-1970s and work- ing for the Rand Corporation. Separately, Mrs. Hallock has also estab- lished a scholarship for Foreign Service children to attend the prep school, West NottinghamAcademy, in Colora, Md. The memorial scholarship will be bestowed in perpetuity on a Foreign Service child to help meet his or her undergraduate college expenses using only the interest from the principal as the scholarship award. For more infor- mation on how to establish an AFSA scholarship, contact Lori Dec at 1 (800) 704-2372, ext. 504, or dec@afsa.org, or visit the Web site at www.afsa.org/ scholar/index.cfm. AFSA President Visits Retirees in Southern California In late July, AFSA President John Limbert spoke to groups of retirees in the Los Angeles area. Limbert reports that former State FSO Marguerite Cooper is doing an excellent job coordi- nating activities for the large number of Foreign Service retirees in southern California. Retirees he met in California were concerned both with traditional union issues such as health care and annuities as well as larger issues of for- eign policy. Of particular interest was language and area specialization and how the Foreign Service is making use of its pool of talent. 8 AFSA NEWS • OCTOBER 2004 T This month, the Associates of the American Foreign Service World- wide is again holding its annual BOOKFAIR, for the 44th consecutive year. In 1986, a longtime AAFSW volunteer wrote that when BOOKFAIR began in 1960, “… there was simply no other way anyone could think of to try to help raisemoney for scholarship assistance.” Since 1960, BOOKFAIR has remained faithful to its goal to raisemoney for scholarships for Foreign Service young people. The first BOOKFAIR collected approximately 7,500 books and re- ported a “benefit” of $1,159.80. BOOKFAIR now offers for sale well over 100,000 volumes and in 2003 grossed $82,439. Even given the earlier value of the dollar, the profits have risen dra- matically, as has the immensity of the task. Formany reasons, it is remarkable that BOOKFAIR continues. Most of the books and art objects are donated by Foreign Service families and almost all our volunteers are the spouses of active or retired FS employees. AAFSW has highly dedicated and committed volun- teers. However, similar to other charita- ble organizations, it, too, experiences dif- ficulty in attracting the numbers of vol- unteers it once had. The increased and additional costs of running the AAFSW and BOOKFAIR have also made it more difficult to turn a profit. A 1999 Washington Post arti- cle on the demise of the 50-year-old Vassar Book Sale reported that in 1999, the VBS earned only $40,000 on total sales of $120,000. The AAFSWmust use a cer- tain percentage of the proceeds to make BOOKFAIRhappen, but hasmanaged to keep overhead costs low, mainly because the Department of State allows AAFSW to use the Diplomatic Exhibit Hall at no cost. There aremany logis- tical considerations that have made BOOKFAIR a complicated undertaking. Parking is much more limited than it used to be, and access to the building is muchmore controlled. Demographics have changed as well. Whereas people used to be able to return conveniently after work for BOOKFAIR, this is no longer the case, because so many live far from the department. The cafeteria used to remain open for dinner on opening night. Because the department needed the space, the former “Book Room” operation has now been split so that the books are sold in “Book Place” and processed in the “Book Room.” This split operation — on two sides of the garage — has made the entire process more difficult. Still, the value of BOOKFAIR cannot be measured only in dollars and cents. Volunteers believe passionately in the importance of raising scholarshipmoney. They also enjoy books and the cama- raderie the BOOKFAIR generates. Faith- ful customers in the greaterWashington area come back year after year. Thus, even though it is aHerculean task, as long as the benefits outweigh the disadvan- tages, AAFSWwill continue the tradition. (See p. 12 for dates and details.) ▫ AFSA NEWS BRIEFS Continued from page 7 BOOKFAIR: A 44-YEAR-OLD INSTITUTION CARRIES ON BY METTE BEECROFT, AAFSW PRESIDENT EMERITA The value of BOOKFAIR cannot be measured only in dollars and cents. Volunteers believe passionately in the importance of raising scholarship money. Briefs • Continued on page 9