The Foreign Service Journal, December 2020

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2020 21 Speaking Out is the Journal ’s opinion forum, a place for lively discussion of issues affecting the U.S. Foreign Service and American diplomacy. The views expressed are those of the author; their publication here does not imply endorse- ment by the American Foreign Service Association. Responses are welcome; send them to journal@afsa.org. open, which I found recently in the deep files, suggests that our crisis was not necessarily a new phenomenon.) Associations Are Small Businesses Like small businesses, the associa- tions carry some risk, too. I learned to appreciate this when I approached an incoming officer to ask if she wanted to serve on the board. She declined because she had been personally sued by a former commissary employee when she was on the board of a post that closed up shop a couple years ago. In fact, given that having an employee association board is a requirement, the Office of Commissary and Recre- ation Affairs strongly recommends that associations maintain liability insurance so that board members and officers are protected in instances of legal action. Not all commissaries will survive, but employee associations should take a good hard look at what they are doing across the board. Are you meeting your members’ current needs? Do you still need a full-time commissary with mul- tiple staff? Or are you, like we were, on the long slow road to obsolescence? I would strongly advise every embassy employee association around the world to take a clear-eyed look at your finances and operations. Should you turn your commissary space into a day-care/yoga studio with a place for members to relax? Don’t keep doing what you are doing just because it has worked for the last 20 years. Who knows what the next 20 will bring! I believe that we could have survived here in Denmark had we responded to the situation earlier. While it is too late for us, a serious look at fundamentals might be just in time for you at your post. I hope you have better luck than we did. n