Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Notes from AFSA’s Retiree Outreach Coordinator

Dear Retiree Association Chairpersons,

I’ve had the pleasure to speak and email with many of you this month. I welcome your feedback and ideas. Please continue to share information about your events and activities.

An Invitation
First and foremost this month I would like to extend an invitation to participate in a webinar with AFSA President Ambassador Barbara Stephenson and Retiree Vice President John Naland on Friday, November 17 from 12:00-1:00 pm EST. As you undoubtedly know, outreach, specifically sharing the story of the Foreign Service, has been a consistent call to action of Barbara’s tenure at AFSA. Equally consistent, however, has been her commitment to in-reach, to hear member concerns, issues, and ideas. It is with this in mind that we have scheduled a webinar to provide a forum for AFSA leadership to meet (albeit virtually) with all of you—the leadership of retiree associations across the country. During the webinar, Barbara and John will provide an update on the advocacy, outreach, and professional development work AFSA is doing. We will also have the opportunity to hear your concerns and ideas and answer questions.

We look forward to this opportunity for a small group exchange and hope you do too. Please RSVP to miele@afsa.org and let us know if you can join the webinar on Friday, November 17. Please also submit any questions or particular areas of interest you hope might be covered. We will try to cover as many topics as we can. Detailed instructions for accessing the webinar will be sent on Monday, November 13, but the only requirements will be a computer and internet connection.

AFSA’S 2018 National High School Essay Contest Has Launched—Help Spread the Word!
AFSA offers a national high school essay contest each year, co-sponsored by the U.S. Institute of Peace<https://www.usip.org/>, Semester at Sea<https://www.semesteratsea.org/> and the National Student Leadership Conference<https://www.nslcleaders.org/>, which is open to any students in grades nine through twelve whose parents do not serve in the Foreign Service. This outreach effort challenges students to consider the role of diplomacy in securing peace and through their research learn about the critical role of the Foreign Service in today’s world. The topic for this year, “Why Diplomacy & Peacebuilding Matter” requires students to compare two examples of where the U.S. pursued an integrated approach amongst agencies to build peace in a conflict-affected country. The winner of this prestigious contest receives $2,500, a trip to Washington, D.C. to meet a member of the State Department’s leadership, and a full scholarship for a Semester at Sea educational voyage.  The runner-up receives $1,250 and a full scholarship to attend the International Diplomacy Program of the National Student Leadership Conference. This is a life changing opportunity for students! To learn more about the essay contest visit our website: afsa.org/essaycontest.

If you or members of your association have connections with your local high schools and would like to help us spread the word, please be in touch. Special thanks to retirees in Rhode Island who are currently helping in this effort by sending us the addresses of their local high school, and/or requesting post cards so they can deliver them directly. While essay submissions are not due until March 15, 2018, we are starting now to get the word out. Please contact me if you’d like to be involved.

Information Needed for the 2018 AFSA Retiree Directory
The 2018 AFSA Retiree Directory is currently being updated, and one thing we’d like to do is add more information about retiree associations so that AFSA members looking to be involved can read a brief synopsis about the association and its activities. Would you be willing to draft 2-3 lines about your association and its activities? Ideally it would provide an overview of where and how often you meet and any other information you’d like to showcase. We will use the contact information for the association that is currently on the AFSA website (www.afsa.org/retiree-associations), so please let me know if changes are required. Please provide this information to me by Wednesday, November 15. Thank you!

Events and Get-Togethers Around the Country
Many of you are having or have had a fall event. I’ve listed them below in an effort to share what’s going on around the country. If I haven’t listed your event please let me know.

October 10 – The Foreign Affairs Retirees of New England (FARNE) welcomed Professor Iskander Rehman, Senior Fellow for International Relations at the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy at Salve Regina University to speak on “The Evolution of Chinese Regional Policy”.

October 10 – The Foreign Service Group – Texas welcomed Dr. Stephen B. Slick, Director, Intelligence Studies Project, LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Austin to speak on, “The Real Challenges for U.S. Intelligence: Competence, Governance, and Legitimacy”.

October 26 – The Utah Retired Foreign Service Group will be meeting in American Fork, UT for their monthly lunch.

October 27 – The Foreign Service Association of Northern California (FSANC) will be having their fall meeting and reviewing the results of their recent membership survey.

November 7 – The Carolina Friends of the Foreign Service will welcome Professor Klaus Larres, Richard M. Krasno Distinguished Professor at UNC to speak on “The Dawning of a New Global Order?  Germany and China in the Age of Donald Trump."

November 16 – The Foreign Service Retirees Association of Florida will be touring the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) in Panama City and having a luncheon with a speaker from NSWC.

Finally, please Save the Date for Foreign Service Day, May 4, 2018. If you plan to be in Washington, D.C. we’d love to have you participate in AFSA’s activities. In the new year, we will share idea for local activities to commemorate the day and engage your community on the role of the Foreign Service.

Please feel free to forward this email to the members of your association. As always, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you.

Best regards,

Christine

Christine Miele
Retiree Outreach Coordinator
American Foreign Service Association

Email: miele@afsa.org
Tel: 202.338.4045 ext. 517
Fax: 202.338.6820
www.afsa.org

No comments:

Post a Comment