At Gift Basket Village we thought we should offer a bit of background on the Administrative Assistants Day holiday so that you can appreciate not only the person but the history behind the holiday.

National Professional Secretaries Week and National Secretary's Day was created  in 1952 through the work of Harry F. Klemfuss of Young and Rubicam. Klemfuss recognized the importance and value of the position to a company or business. His goal was to encourage more women to become secretaries. Using his skill and experience in public relations, Klemfuss, promoted the values and importance of the job of secretaries. In doing so, he also created the holiday in recognition of the importance of secretaries.

Today,  the title is changing and evolving. But, the recognition is equally important. There are two new terms in use today. They are "Administrative Professionals" and "Executive Admins". The two names sometimes mean different roles and responsibilities to different companies. Both are broader terms, that encompass more positions than the original "Secretary" role.

The name change recognizes and acknowledges that the role has changed significantly since 1952, and for the better at that. And in Harry Klemfuss' day, these postions were the realm of women. Today, you find some males in these positions.

The most common ways of recognizing your Administrative Professional(s) today are:

• Gourmet Gift Baskets
• Flowers
• Cards (often with shopping gift certificates enclosed)
• Take them to lunch (someplace out of the ordinary)
• Candies - gourmet chocolates are best