During World War II, the U.S. government issued frantic calls for secretaries, clerks, and others who could assist in the war effort. Secretaries "manned" the home front and the office front as many women entered factories, war plants, and various jobs formerly held by men. In 1942, to provide a network for secretarial staff, the National Secretaries Association (now known as the International Association of Administrative Professionals) was established.

The president of the National Secretaries Association's first chapter (Kaw Chapter in Topeka, Kansas) was Florence Overbey, who enlisted in the Women's Army Corp. Another founding member, Anita Harwick of Topeka, joined the WAVES. Numerous other NSA members enlisted in the women's branches of the Armed Services. Others volunteered services for local branches of the Red Cross, or selling war bonds, handling correspondence, and other volunteer activities (putting their skills to work AFTER being at their regular jobs all day -- or night, if they were on the swing shift with Rosie the Riveter).

In May 1942, Articles of Incorporation were filed under the laws of the State of Missouri. Autonomous Chapters sprouted all over the Midwest in the mid-40s, and soon spread across the country.

The first issues of the association's magazine, The National Secretary (now OfficePro), were published in 1943. In 1944, efforts began to unify the chapters into one centrally-governed association, similar to its structure today.

The first inter-chapter meeting of the association was held at Omaha, Nebraska, in April 1944, with members from Kansas City, Des Moines, Lincoln, and Omaha in attendance. At this meeting, a plan was drafted for establishment of a district comprising chapters in that area.

After the war years, the first nationwide convention was held at Kansas City, Missouri, in February 1946. From the attendance there it was possible, for the first time, to gauge the progress of the association on a national scale. The convention register included names of approximately 200 members, 49 of whom were voting delegates. There were 115 chapters at that time.

In July 1946, Amended Articles of Incorporation were filed in the State of Missouri which vested the control of the association in the membership, established a democratic form of government, with equal rights of every chapter to a voice in association affairs, and gave the members the right to elect their own officers.

The first Certified Professional Secretary examination was administered in August 1951. There were 281 candidates at 15 examination centers (today there are more than 250 exam centers worldwide).

Professional Secretaries Week (in 2000 renamed Administrative Professionals Week) was originated in 1952 and is sponsored annually by IAAP. It is observed the last full week in April with Wednesday set aside as Administrative Professionals Day.

The Articles of Incorporation were amended to establish an international status, and the first chapter outside the continental United States or its territories was installed at Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, in 1954. Chapters were formed in Mexico City, 1959, and Helsinki, Finland, 1960, prior to the Bylaw Amendment in 1962 providing for affiliate status worldwide.

Members voted by mail referendum to change the name of the association in February 1981 to Professional Secretaries International (PSI), clarifying identity of the membership in a new decade for the professional secretary.

In July 1989 the Bylaws and Standing Rules were amended to provide full membership status to members located outside the United States, its territories, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United States, or Canada. In 1992, these units became known as chapters at large.

In 1994, PSI purchased the building and site of our present world headquarters offices in Ambassador Park, a business subdivision in Kansas City, Missouri. A building dedication ceremony was held on April 8, 1995.

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

In August 1998, PSI member delegates at the 54th annual Convention and Education Forum in Atlanta, GA, voted to change PSI's name to the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), to reflect more of the job titles being used today.

In the year 2000, IAAP changed the name of Professional Secretaries Week and Professional Secretaries Day to Administrative Professionals Week and Administrative Professionals Day

In 2001, IAAP introduced the Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) program, an additional advanced certification.

IAAP continues to provide education and training and set standards of excellence recognized by the business community on a global perspective. Our present and future vision is "to inspire and equip all administrative professionals to attain excellence."

NSA/PSI/IAAP Association Timeline

1942 First chapter of what soon becomes the National Secretaries Association (NSA) is founded in Topeka, Kansas, followed quickly by chapters in Missouri, Oklahoma, Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota.

1946 Two hundred members attend the first nationwide convention in Kansas City, Missouri. Delegates, drawn from 115 chapters, approve the development of the Certified Professional Secretary® program.

1950 Merger with Secretaries International brings NSA 467 new members and a new project-building a home for retired secretaries.

1951 Of 281 candidates, 62 pass a six-part examination and become the first recipients of the CPS® rating.

1952 U.S. Department of Commerce joins NSA in sponsoring the first National Secretaries Week (now Administrative Professionals Week) to recognize "the secretary, upon whose skills, loyalty, and efficiency the function of business and government depend."

1954 NSA goes international, with the first chapter formed outside the continental United States in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

1958 Creation of the Retirement Centers Trust.

1960 NSA established Future Secretaries Association, a network of chapters in high schools.

1964 Asociacion de Secretarias Ejectivas de Panama becomes first foreign secretarial association to affiliate with NSA.

1966 With $100 seed money, the Research and Educational Foundation is created to fund projects that will "benefit the secretarial profession as well as the fields of business and education."

1967 Convention delegates voted to open membership to men; first man joins six weeks later.

1971 Language barriers fall as NSA offers the CPS examination in French in Canada and in Spanish in Puerto Rico.

1972 Twenty-year dream culminates with dedication of Vista Grande, an 11-acre retirement complex in Rio Rancho, near Albuquerque, New Mexico.

1981 Name changed to Professional Secretaries International.

1987 CPS program is restructured, requiring recipients to recertify their credentials every five years.

1989 PSI purchases land in Kansas City for potential headquarters. Bylaws and Standing Rules amended to provide full membership status to members outside North America and U.S. territories, with voting rights to International Associations.

1992 PSI celebrates 50th Anniversary. First International Secretarial Summit held in New York City.

1995 PSI purchases the building and site of our present world headquarters offices in Kansas City, Missouri. Building dedication ceremony held April 8, 1995. Convention delegates vote to approve a bylaws amendment that added "The Association for Office Professionals " as a tag line to the name of the association.

1998 PSI changes its name to the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP).

2000 IAAP changes name of Professional Secretaries Week to Administrative Professionals Week.

2001 IAAP introduces the Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) program.