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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