Happy Administrative Professionals Day!
Administrative Professionals Week is
always the last full week of April, with Wednesday of that week being designated
Administrative Professionals Day.
Administrative Professionals Day
recognizes and celebrates the work of secretaries, administrative assistants,
and other office professionals for their growing and diverse contributions to
the workplace. In the United States, it is customary to take administrative
professionals out to lunch on this day, and/or to give flowers or other gifts of
appreciation.
Administrative Professionals Week
was originally organized as "National Secretaries Week" by the International
Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) and a consortium of office
product manufacturers in 1952. Mary Barrett, president of the National
Secretaries Association (now called the International Association of
Administrative Professionals) and C. King Woodbridge, president of Dictaphone
Corporation, were serving on a council charged with addressing a national
shortage of skilled office workers that existed at the time. Together with Harry
Klemfuss, public relations account executive at Young & Rubicam, they
originated the idea for a secretaries week campaign.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Charles
Sawyer proclaimed the first National Secretaries Week held June 1-7, 1952, with
Wednesday, June 4th designated National Secretaries Day. Mary Barrett and C.
King Woodbridge were invited to Washington, DC for the official announcement.
The event received widespread publicity.
In 1955, the National Secretaries
Association changed the date of National Secretaries Week to the last full week
of April, with Wednesday of that week being designated National Secretaries Day.
The name was changed to Professional Secretaries Week in 1981 when the National
Secretaries Association became Professional Secretaries International (PSI).
In 1998, PSI changed its name to the
International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), to further
reflect the expanding role of office staff. In the year 2000, the IAAP –
official sponsor of the event – announced that the name would change from
"Professional Secretaries Day" to "Administrative Professionals Day." The name
change was made to keep in step with the changing job titles and expanding
responsibilities of today's administrative workforce.
Headquartered in Kansas City,
Missouri, IAAP remains the sole sponsor of Administrative Professionals Week and
Administrative Professionals Day. IAAP continues to believe in the importance of
this event in calling business attention to the increasing value and
contributions of administrative professionals in today's workplace.
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