'Secretaries Day' Renamed 'Administrative Professionals Day'

In a move to reflect changing job responsibilities, the International Assn. of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), Kansas City, Mo., has renamed Secretaries Day "Administrative Professionals Day." The event will be celebrated on Apr. 26. "History played a surprising role in the founding of Secretaries Day," says Chris Mueller, seasonal program manager with Cleveland-based American Greetings, which produces cards for the occasion. "It began in 1952 as a way to lure post World War II women who had worked in munitions plants back into the secretarial pool." The idea for a national day to honor secretaries is credited to Mary Barrett, president of what was then the National Secretaries Assn. (now the IAAP), and public relations consultant Harry Klemfuss. Mueller says there are now more than 3.5 million administrative professionals in the workplace.