We'd like to share some basic information about the International Association of Administrative Professionals® (Formerly Professional Secretaries International® - The Association for Office Professionals). Let us start at the beginning and proceed from there.

Early in 1942 the National Secretaries Association began and formed the first chapter in Topeka, Kansas. Time marched on and the first nationwide convention assembled at Kansas City, Missouri, in February 1946 with approximately 200 members present, representing 115 chapters at that time.

We find that in July 1946, in the State of Missouri, NSA filed the Amended Articles of Incorporation. This vested the control of the association in the membership, and gave the members the right to elect their own officers. Jumping to 1954, the Articles of Incorporation were amended to establish an international status. Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, was the first chapter outside the continental United States, or its territories, to be installed.

Professional Secretaries Week originated in 1952, and is sponsored annually by International Association of Administrative Professionals. The first Certified Professional Secretary examination was administered August 17-18, 1951, with 281 candidates. As of November 1995, approximately 50,000 secretaries have earned their CPS rating.

Members voted by mail referendum in February 1981 to change the name of the association to Professional Secretaries International. To provide full membership status to members located outside the United States, and its territories, the Bylaws and Standing Rules were amended. In 1992 these units became known as chapters-at-large.

We find in 1994 Professional Secretaries International purchased the building and site of our present world headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. April 8, 1995, the building dedication ceremony took place.

During the 1995 International Convention in Seattle, Washington, the delegates voted to approve a bylaws amendment adding "The Association for Office Professionals® as a tag line to the name of the association.

On Aug. 3, 1998 - Reflecting the broader range of job titles and expanded responsibilities held by today’s administrative support staff, members of Professional Secretaries International voted to change their association’s name to the International Association of Administrative Professionals™ (IAAP™). The name change was approved by a vast majority of member delegates during the 56-year-old association’s International Convention and Education Forum in Atlanta, Georgia.

For more information on how to join GAC, please sign our Guest Book or you can mail us at:
        Greenspoint Area Chapter, IAAP
        P.O. Box 671102
        Houston, TX 77267-1102