The Foreign Service Journal, December 2019

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2019 65 AFSA NEWS The M. Juanita Guess Award is conferred on a community liaison office coordinator (CLO) who has demonstrated outstanding leadership, dedication, initia- tive or imagination in assist- ing the families of Americans serving at an overseas post. Michelle Ross received this year’s Guess Award for her extraordinary efforts to assist embassy personnel and family members who were evacuated after the Venezu- elan government broke dip- lomatic ties with the United States in January. “Embassy Caracas has had a rough go of it over the last year, but I wouldn’t change the fact that we were assigned there for the world,” Ms. Ross said in her accep- tance speech. “My team in the CLO office was extraor- dinary, and they are much more family than colleagues at this point. As the political heat was ramping up at post, I spent hours in planning and contingency meetings, while Erin and Gerard kept the office running without missing a beat.” Jennifer Allen and Jonette Cahoon Vaughan were runners-up. The Avis Bohlen Award honors the accomplishments of a Foreign Service family member whose relations with the American and foreign communities at post have done the most to advance the interests of the United States. Laurent Charbonnet is recognized this year with the Bohlen Award for his work creating and running Mette Beecroft (left) presents Laurent Charbonnet with the Avis Bohlen Award for a Foreign Service family member at the awards ceremony Oct. 16. F. Allen “Tex” Harris (left), with AFSA President Eric Rubin at the Oct. 16 awards ceremony. AFSA/JOAQUINSOSA AFSA/JOAQUINSOSA retired AFSA member from any of the foreign affairs agencies who has made a significant (nonmonetary) contribution to the asso- ciation in its role either as a professional association or its role as a labor union. F. Allen “Tex” Harris , widely known as “Mr. AFSA,” received this year’s award for the enormous contribu- tions he has made over five decades of service to AFSA and advocacy for the U.S. Foreign Service. In accepting his award, Mr. Harris talked about the battles he and his colleagues won to reform AFSA decades ago. Two stand out, he said. First, ensuring that For- eign Service professionals would have “major input in the organization and con- duct of our profession,” and that “we had a strong insti- tution that would protect the backs of Foreign Service members in the future. “And second, making AFSA the elected union representing all U.S. Foreign Service employees from multiple agencies. “Thank God, in the world we live in we have AFSA protecting our interests and professional standards,” Mr. Harris concluded. n and post management to advance the strategic priori- ties of the association. The winner this year is Lawrence Fields , recog- nized for reviving AFSA’s presence at Consulate General Frankfurt. The AFSA Achievement and Contributions to the Association Award rec- ognizes an active-duty or the diplomacy through bicycles program at a refugee center in Frank- furt, Germany. The AFSA Post Rep- resentative of the Year Award is presented to an exemplary AFSA post rep who has demonstrated sustained and successful engagement with AFSA membership at post