An update from Rep. Ingraham

On Wednesday, April 23rd we will be observing the 62nd anniversary of “Administrative Professionals Day.” This is a day set aside to recognize and celebrate the work of secretaries, administrative assistants and other office professionals for their growing and diverse contributions to the workplace, who at some point in time impact our daily lives in some manner as we use services that employ this valuable work force.

Administrative Professionals Day is one of the largest workplace observances and is a day set aside to recognize and celebrate the work of secretaries, administrative assistants, and other office professionals for their growing and diverse contributions to the workplace.

Administrative Professionals Day (also known as Secretaries Day or Administration Day), while an unofficial secular holiday, has been around for many years and is celebrated worldwide. It is always observed on the Wednesday of Administrative Professionals Week, at least in North America, which is the last full week of April.

Administrative Professionals Day’s origin dates back to World War II. During World War II, there was an increased need for skilled administrative personnel, particularly in the United States. The National Secretaries Association was formed to recognize the contributions of secretaries and other administrative personnel to the economy and to support their personal development and help attract people to administrative careers in the field.

The idea, for what we now call Administrative Professionals Day, began with Mary Barrett, president of the National Secretaries Association (now called IAAP - International Association of Administrative Professionals), and C. King Woodbridge, president of Dictaphone Corporation. They served on a council addressing a national shortage of skilled office workers. Together with Harry Klemfuss, public relations account executive at Young & Rubicam, they originated the idea for a National Secretaries Week, with two objectives in mind: to recognize the secretary, upon whose skills, loyalty and efficiency the functions of business and government offices depend and to call attention through favorable publicity to the tremendous potential of the secretarial career.

The official period of celebration was first proclaimed by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Charles Sawyer as “National Secretaries Week,” which was held June 1–7, 1952, with Wednesday, June 4, 1952 designated National Secretaries Day. The first Secretaries Day was sponsored by the National Secretaries Association with the support of corporate groups.

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.

Over the last 60 years, Administrative Professionals Day has gone through many revisions and names from its creation, but reason for the observance hasn’t changed and I encourage you on this Administrative Professionals Day to recognize and celebrate the work of secretaries, administrative assistants, and other office professionals by remembering to brighten their day by saying thank you when given the opportunity.

Now it is your turn to “Keep in Touch”. I can be reached via e-mail at pathd13@blackfoot.net, or by calling me at 827-4652 or by mail at P.O. Box 1151, Thompson Falls, Montana 59873.