Video of the Week: Keynote and AFSA Memorial Plaque Ceremony

Foreign Affairs Day 2009

Yesterday, May 1^st, Secretary Clinton delivered the keynote address and had a town hall meeting at the plenary session of the Foreign Affairs Day at the Dean Acheson Auditorium in Washington, D.C. Brief excerpt below on starting a new tradition:

Today, we are starting a new tradition here at the State Department in recognition of the outstanding service that so many of our diplomats perform every day in challenging and often dangerous circumstances on behalf of our nation. So I am delighted to announce a new award named for a true hero of the Foreign Service, a man who has led diplomatic missions in some of the hottest hotspots on the planet, who has helped to sow seeds of peace in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Lebanon. And that is, of course, Ambassador Ryan Crocker. I also want to make it clear that his wife Christine, who has been with him in most of those settings, deserves that recognition as well. (Applause.) […] Now, we have a new way to celebrate our colleagues who distinguish themselves and serve in very difficult posts, not once, not twice, but over and over again. And that will be the Ryan C. Crocker Award for Outstanding Leadership in Expeditionary Diplomacy. (Applause.) With this award we not only honor its namesake, but all those men and women of the State Department family who rise to meet the great challenges to further the goals of American diplomacy and development. Congratulations and thank you, Ambassador Crocker. (Applause.)

See the transcript of keynote address and town hall meeting here.

Video above includes the AFSA Memorial Plaque Ceremony, where Secretary Clinton made special thanks for the presence of the family of Brian Adkins, our FSO who recently died in Addis Ababa. She read a message from President Obama and spoke more about Brian, at one point with voice ever slightly breaking (elsewhere its been called the sniffles). The plaque ceremony starts at 15:11 into this video. If you want to see the video of just the plaque ceremony, go here.

Updated @ 6:55 pm - For more on Brian Adkins:

See “Appreciation: A Life Dedicated to Service: Brian Adkins: (1983-2009)” By Charles Hornbostel │ FS Journal May 2009 │ pp. 41-43

Brian Adkins - Legacy.com Guest Book