Upcoming CFFS Events

The next Carolina Friends of the Foreign Service Luncheon will be held Thursday, April 26, 2012.  The speaker will be Professor of Geological Science Jose Rial.  Professor Rial will talk on the effects of global climate change and about his field of studies in the Arctic Circle.  Additional information regarding venue will be forthcoming.

The CFFS annual summer potluck will be held Saturday, June 2nd at the home of Debbi Schwartz.  Additional information regarding the potluck will be provided at a later date. 

January Carolina Friends of the Foreign Service Luncheon

Speaker Ambassador Ed Brynn with CFFS Members Shirley and Arvin Kramish

 

The Carolina Friends of the Foreign Service's first luncheon of the year was held on January 26th at Captain John's Dockside Restaurant in Chapel Hill.  Ambassador Ed Brynn, outgoing Foreign Affairs Historian at the Department of State and longtime member of the CFFS, spoke about the Foreign Relations of the United States Series (FRUS).  The FRUS are the definitive documentary compilations of the United States' relations with other countries.  The documents have been published since President Abraham Lincoln signed the mandate in 1861, and 2011 therefore marked the 150th anniversary of the FRUS.  Ambassador Brynn told attendees that the State Department's historians are currently working on compiling documents from the presidency of Ronald Reagan.  (The Office of the Historian is required by Congress to work on a period of foreign relations 25 years earlier than the current year, as it is assumed that all relevant information is available at that point and information from formerly classified materials for the most part has been declassified.)

New Edition of "Inside a U.S. Embassy"

A new link has been added to the Carolina Friends of the Foreign Service's list of related links.  It is entitled "New Edition of 'Inside a U.S. Embassy'".  This third edition of "Inside a U.S. Embassy" includes profiles of 24 different Foreign Service positions, tales from the field, and day-in-the-life chronicles from around the world.  There are also two new sections:  "So You Want to Join the Foreign Service?" and "Work and Life: Embassy, Employee, Family."  The book is available in bookstores and online at Amazon.com.  For more information about the book, please click on the link, listed under "Related Links" on the left side of the blog's home page.

Message for US Agency for International Development "Alumni" from the USAID Alumni Association (UAA)

The UAA's Public Outreach Committee is building an Alumni Speakers Roster. They are hoping for representation from all parts of the US and elsewhere. For more information about the UAA and its Alumni Speakers Roster, please click on the USAID Alumni link under "Related Links" on the left side of this blog.