AFSA offers three awards for recognition of exemplary performance, extraordinary contributions to effectiveness, professionalism and morale.
• The Nelson B. Delavan Award recognizes the work of a Foreign Service Office Management Specialist who has made a significant contribution to post or office effectiveness and morale beyond the framework of her or his job responsibilities.
• The M. Juanita Guess Award is conferred on a Community Liaison Officer who has demonstrated outstanding leadership, dedication, initiative or imagination in assisting the families of Americans serving at an overseas post.
• The Avis Bohlen Award honors the accomplishments of a family member of a Foreign Service employee whose relations with the American and foreign communities at post have done the most to advance the interests of the United States.
Winners receive a monetary prize of $2,500 and are honored at a ceremony in late June in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the State Department.
Nomination Procedures
Nominations should be submitted to: Awards Committee, AFSA, 2101 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20037, attention Perri Green, no later than February 28 of each year. Any questions can be directed to Ms. Green, Coordinator for Special Awards and Outreach, at green@afsa.org or 202-719-9700.
Criteria for Performance Awards
The nomination must include the following elements:
1) Name of the award for which the person is being nominated; the nominee's name, grade, agency, and position (or, for the Bohlen Award, the family relationship).
2) Nominator's name, grade, agency and position and description of association with the nominee.
3) Justification for nomination. The narrative should discuss the actions and qualities that qualify the nominee for the award, with specific examples of accomplishments that fulfill the criteria above. Part III should not exceed 700 words.
Additional Guidelines for Nominations
A. Only career or career conditional members of the foreign affairs agencies are eligible to be nominated for an award: i.e., State, USAID, FCS, FAS or IBB employees. Exceptions to this are the M. Juanita Guess Award for a Community Liaison officer at an overseas post, and the Avis Bohlen Award for a family member of a Foreign Service employee at post.
B. A person may be nominated more than once in different years for the same award, providing that they have never won.
C. The time period during which the events attributed to the nominee took place does not have to be within the most recent calendar year. However, they should have occurred no more than 4 years from the time of the nomination.
D. Nominations for all AFSA awards should go directly to AFSA.
E. With respect to the Avis Bohlen Award to a family member at post, only those activities of a voluntary nature will be considered. If the nominee receives any type of monetary compensation for her/his work, they cannot be considered.
F. AFSA Board members may not be nominated for their activities while serving on the Board, but may be nominated for any actions which occurred prior to serving, within the time period mentioned in statement C.
G. Nominations for any of the awards may be submitted by anyone with knowledge of the nominee's accomplishments, and does not necessarily need to be a government employee. As noted in Part II of the Format guidelines, the nominator must describe the relationship or association with the nominee. Self-nominations are not eligible.
H. The Awards and Plaque Committee has final authority over decisions by all judging panels to ensure consistent standards.