The Foreign Service Journal, December 2013

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2013 43 AFSA NEWS son officer who has demon- strated outstanding leader- ship, dedication, initiative or imagination in assisting the families of Americans serving at an overseas post. In 2013, two winners were honored with the Guess award: Eliza- Nominate a Family Member, Office Management Specialist or Community Liaison Officer AFSA’s Exemplary Performance Awards AFSA encourages all mem- bers of the Foreign Service community to consider nominating a deserving col- league or family member for one of the association’s three annual awards for exemplary performance. Deadline for nominations is Feb. 28. AFSA Performance Awards honor Foreign Ser- vice employees and family members alike. The Nelson B. Delavan Award, for a Foreign Service office management specialist who has made a significant contribution to post or office effectiveness and morale beyond the framework of his or her job responsibilities. The 2013 winner was Mikkela Thompson, Dhaka. The M. Juanita Guess Award, for a community liai- AFSA award certificates are displayed in the Thomas Jefferson State Reception Room before they are given to the award recipients during AFSA’s annual award ceremony. beth Jenkins, Caracas and Jessica McVay, Khartoum. The Avis Bohlen Award, for a Foreign Service eli- gible family member whose relations with the American and foreign communities at post have done the most to advance the interests of the United States. The 2013 win- ner was Leah Evans, Kyiv. Winners are chosen by panels of judges from within the Foreign Service com- munity. All winners will be honored at AFSA’s awards ceremony held in June 2014, in the Department of State’s Benjamin Franklin Diplomatic Reception Room. Each win- ner will receive a cash prize of $2,500. To submit a nomination for the 2013 performance awards, please visit www. afsa.org/performance. For more information, please contact AFSA’s Coordinator for Special Awards and Outreach Perri Green at green@afsa.org or (202) 719-9700. n ClementsWorldwide: Proud Sponsor of the M. Juanita Guess Award The history of Clements Worldwide’s long associa- tion with the Foreign Service began in 1947, when Rob- ert Clements and Juanita Guess Clements founded a domestic insurance business. At that time, Juanita was working as a secretary at the State Department. During conversations with her col- leagues, it became apparent that members of the Foreign Service needed an insurance policy that covered their per- sonal property and cars while overseas, which was unavail- able at the time. Jon Clements has fol- lowed in his parents’ foot- steps as chief executive officer and chairman of the company they started, although they might not recognize it. Clements Worldwide now serves not only members of the Foreign Service, but international companies and expats, as BY DONNA AYERST, AFSA NEWS EDITOR Clements continued on page 47 Jon Clements, chief executive officer of Clements Worldwide, presents Elizabeth Jenkins with the M. Juanita Guess Award certificate during AFSA’s awards ceremony on June 4, 2013. DONNAAYERST DONNAAYERST