Kankakee Times

State Sen. Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) joined other senators in thanking their support staff on Administrative Professionals Day this week. 

In the April 21 video published by the Illinois Senate Republicans Caucus, Barickman along with multiple others named the people in his office that make his work possible. 

"I want to thank Mama Scafe, Kathy Scafe and Sila Scott," Barickman said. "You guys are the rock stars. You make the office work. You make me look good. Thanks for all you do."

In recent news, Barickman has been vocal in his support of the People's Independent Maps Act, which would place the legislative district redistricting duty in the hands of an independent equally bipartisan committee rather than politicians. 

"It's time for Illinois to finally end the practice of partisan gerrymandering where politicians are allowed to pick their voters instead of people choosing their elected officials," Barickman said in an April 1 Facebook post.

The U.S. has been celebrating Administrative Professional's Day in some shape or form since World War II. 

About Administrative Professionals Day

During World War II, there was an increased need for skilled administrative personnel. The National Secretaries Association was formed to recognize the contributions of secretaries and other administrative personnel to the economy, to support their personal development and to help attract people to administrative careers in the field. The association's name was changed to Professional Secretaries International in 1981 and, finally, the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) in 1998.

These changes in name reflected the changing nature of the tasks, qualifications and responsibilities of the members of the organization. IAAP now has an international orientation and continues to provide education and training and set standards of excellence recognized by the business community on a global perspective. The organization's vision is "to inspire and equip all administrative professionals to attain excellence".

The first National Secretaries Week was organized in 1952 in conjunction with the United States Department of Commerce and various office supply and equipment manufacturers. The Wednesday of that week became known as National Secretaries Day. As the organization gained international recognition, the events became known as Professional Secretaries Week® and Professional Secretaries Day®. In 2000, IAAP announced that names of the week and the day were changed to Administrative Professionals Week and Administrative Professionals Day to keep pace with changing job titles and expanding responsibilities of the modern administrative workforce. Many work environments across the world observe this event.