AHOSKIE – Hailey Best, Miss North Carolina 2011, will be the featured guest speaker at the annual Administrative Professional’s Day, set for two sessions on Wednesday, April 25 at Carpenter’s Shop Church.

Due to the traditional large turnout for this annual event, administrative professionals can choose between two luncheon times (11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. or 1-2:15 p.m.). To reserve a seat for either call 862-1304 or 332-2042. The cost is $12 per person and includes a buffet-style lunch.

This special day is set aside annually to recognize the work of secretaries, administrative assistants, receptionists and other administrative support professionals.

Locally, these individuals will be praised for their daily work and hear from Best, a Goldsboro native who is now a sophomore at Meredith College in Raleigh where she is majoring in Vocal Performance.

“We are pleased to welcome Hailey to Ahoskie and are looking forward to her sharing her story of success,” said Jamie Johnson, owner of Ace Hardware of Ahoskie, one of the event’s sponsors along with the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald and the Small Business Center at Roanoke-Chowan Community College.

“Again this year the Small Business Center is pleased to play a role in organizing this event and hosting a very talented and highly visible personality from our state,” said RCCC Small Business Center Director Jim Bales.

“This promises to be a grand event that recognizes the efforts of the many hard-working administrative professionals in our local area,” said News-Herald Publisher Joe Cowart. “We encourage their bosses to allow those dedicated employees enjoy their special day and what better way to celebrate that day than to have Miss North Carolina help salute those efforts.”

Best, who was a top 15 finalist among the 53 young women competing at the 91^st annual Miss America Pageant held earlier this year in Las Vegas, attended Eastern Wayne High School prior to graduating her senior year from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

She is now on her way to obtaining a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance, a Master of Education degree, and to one day become a college vocal professor.

Currently, Best is a professional entertainer for the NC Opera Company and the NC Theatre; does commercials for the Talent One Agency; and serves as a part-time administrative assistant in the President’s office of Meredith College.

As far as her role as Miss North Carolina, Best said, “I truly hope to be remembered as having ‘the tie that binds’ the people of North Carolina together in a way that embraces and enriches the lives of the many homeless children in our state.  Sizeable fundraising efforts will also be remembered for the “Live On” Foundation, as well as for the Children’s Miracle Network.  Lastly, but certainly not least, I will be known for volunteering and guiding the citizens of North Carolina with new and fresh ideas in order to become an even better state.”

According to wikipedia.org, the idea of what is now Administrative Professionals Day began with Mary Barrett, president of the National Secretaries Association, now called the International Association of Administrative Professionals, and C. King Woodbridge, president of Dictaphone Corporation. They served on a council addressing a national shortage of skilled office workers. Together with Harry Klemfuss, public relations account executive at Young & Rubicam, they originated the idea for a National Secretaries Week.

The official period of celebration was first proclaimed by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Charles Sawyer as “National Secretaries Week,” which was held June 1–7 in 1952, with Wednesday, June 4, 1952 designated National Secretaries Day. The first Secretaries Day was sponsored by the National Secretaries Association with the support of corporate groups.

In 1955, the observance date of National Secretaries Week was moved to the last full week of April. The name was changed to Professional Secretaries Week in 1981, and became Administrative Professionals Week in 2000 to encompass the expanding responsibilities and wide-ranging job titles of administrative support staff. IAAP created National Secretaries Week (now Administrative Professionals Week) with two objectives in mind: to recognize “the secretary, upon whose skills, loyalty, and efficiency the functions of business and government offices depend,” and to call attention “through favorable publicity, to the tremendous potential of the secretarial career.”