The Foreign Service Journal, December 2011

DE C 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 67 T he close of a year, alongwith the hol- iday season, always offers an oppor- tunity to reflect. First, I want to sin- cerely thank the many individuals who offer their time, talents and resources to make our organization function at a high level. In 2011, we moved forward on sever- al new initiatives. AFSA’s highest priori- ty is to serve the needs of ourmembership. This is a tone that the former AFSA GoverningBoard (which left office in July) and the new Governing Board (which assumed office that same month) have established. As executive director, service is a crit- ical driver, but it’s also a personal value that I hold in high regard. Profit is not mea- sured indollars, but in the satisfaction that a customer, member or individual has been assisted or served. This year AFSAhas deepened our staff capacity by adding several new positions on the advocacy, legislative and laborman- agement fronts. We have created new teams of staff and reorganized our busi- ness and servicemodel. OurWeb site has been completely redesigned. We have brought in new technology, which has resulted in significant improvements inour ability to communicatewithourmembers and a larger audience. We continue to move forward with new programming, which has received wide coverage in several newspapers. For the first time, C-SPANcovered two of our events held at AFSA headquarters. Of the many programs we presented, two stand out. In January, we commem- orated the 30th anniversary of the release of theU.S. hostages fromIranby tying yel- low ribbons around trees inWashington, D.C., dedicating awreath in front of AFSA and bringing together former hostages to participate in a panel discussion. It was a memorable week that truly honored the patriotism of the Foreign Service — and was amoment for AFSA tohonor the for- mer hostages and salute all those in the Foreign Service who serve and sacrifice. The other highlight was our “Rally to ServeAmerica.” AFSAorganized this pos- itive and patriotic rallywhen the prospect of a government shutdown loomed. Members of the AFSA Governing Board — including AFSA President Susan Johnson, StateVPDaniel Hirsch, FCSVP KeithCurtis,USAIDVPFranciscoZamora andTexHarris—spoke eloquently at the event. I evenhad the thrill of using a bull- horn to announce to all who could hear that the Foreign Service honors America and that we areworking for theAmerican people! It doesn’t get much better than this. The event was widely covered in the media and was an historic moment. I know firsthand that AFSA profes- sional staff members are committed to serving ourmembers. You and your fam- ilies deserve that, and I can assure you of their real dedication and the value we all place on serving you. I thank you for all the support youpro- vide to AFSA. Best wishes to you for the holidays and toAFSA in 2012. As always, please feel free to e-mail me at Houston@ afsa.org. A F S A N E W S A Year-End Message FROM AFSA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IAN HOUSTON Ron Schlicher—have had very distin- guishedcareers. Taking a contraryposi- tion can be uncomfortable in an orga- nization that values consensus and col- legiality. It candamage friendships and divide family members. Dissent can force us to confront facts that we would prefer to ignore. So why dissent? We have goals beyondadvancingour careers. Wehave a conscience; we care about our coun- try’s fortunes and about the fate of our Service. We have a duty to point out misguidedpolicies—be they in Iraqor elsewhere — and to provide a con- structive solution. We are the people on the ground with the training, knowledge, judgment and experience to advise the president and the Secretary of State. We owe it to our country to use what we know and togiveour honest views, evenwhen they may differwith current orthodoxy. For if not us, who? AFSAhonors thosewhodissentwith our annual awards for constructive dis- sent. Please consider nominating a deserving colleague—or even yourself —for one of these unique awards. For more information, please visit www.afsa. org/awards or contact AFSA’s Coor- dinator for SpecialAwards andOutreach Perri Green at green@afsa.org. The deadline for nominations is Feb. 29, 2012. Amb. John Limbert, who served as AFSA’s president from 2003 to 2005, is currently chairman of AFSA’s Awards and Plaques Committee. Dissent • Continued from page 63 We are the people on the ground with the training, knowledge, judgment and experience to advise the president and the Secretary of State.