By KATHY CIOTOLA
Sun staff writer

Have you appreciated your administrative support lately?

If not, now is the perfect time to honor secretaries, administrative assistants and other office workers for Administrative Professionals Week this week and Administrative Professionals Day on Wednesday.

The Gainesville chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals will host a celebration breakfast seminar Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to noon at the Holloway Touchdown Terrace at the Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

The breakfast is open to the public and costs $45.

John Spence of Gainesville, an author and speaker, will give a seminar about interpersonal communications, said Carol Law, president-elect of Gainesville's Association of Administrative Professionals.

It's important to honor office workers, said Patty Foster, charter member of the local association.

"I think they're the backbone of any office, especially nowadays with all the technologies," said Foster, a member of Gainesville's association since its start in 1987.

Computers have changed the administrative support field drastically in the past few decades, said Foster, executive assistant to UF's Athletics Director Jeremy Foley. Foster has worked at UF for 23 years and has worked in administrative support for 35 years.

"There are so many things we can do; more than typing and taking messages," Foster said. "Technology has brought more respect for our positions. It's just unbelievable how far we've come."

More than 3.9 million secretaries and administrative assistants work in the United States, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics, and 8.9 million people working in various administrative support roles, according to the association Web site.

The International Association of Administrative Professionals is a worldwide association of more than 40,000 office professionals. Gainesville's chapter holds meetings every month with an educational program, dinner and business meeting.

"We try to increase productivity to the workplace," Law said. The association also does community service and raises money for a college scholarship.

Administrative Professionals Week was originally organized in 1952 as "National Secretaries Week" by the National Secretaries Association (now known as the International Association of Administrative Professionals).

In 2000, the organization changed the name to Administrative Professionals Week and Administrative Professionals Day to keep pace with changing job titles and expanding responsibilities of today’s administrative workforce.

# # #