MS040: Society of Professional Communicators Collection
Scope and Contents
These materials date from 1948 (photocopies of Norton Company’s newsletter) to 2006 at this time, but will be added to in the future. There are two items from 1956. Apart from these and the Norton Co. newsletters, dates of these materials range from 1978 to 2006. Most of the materials are from 1990 on, when the organization became the Society of Professional Communicators.
In Box 1 (document case) are early brochures, newsletters beginning in 1988, the SPC Journal of 1991 and 1993, and membership directories. Future newsletters and membership directories can be added to this box.
Boxes 2-4 contain Worcester County Editors’ Council (WCEC) and Society of Professional Communicators (SPC) records. These are primarily Programs and Correspondence, Board of Directors minutes and notes, and financial records. They are organized by year. In some years there are other materials, including committee notes, award and scholarship information, photographs, meeting facility records, silent auction records, and public relations materials. There is a folder for 1990 documenting the name change to SPC. There are several folders of material for 2000 and 2001relating to the 50th Anniversary celebration.
Box 5 (drop-front box) contains newsletters from Norton Company, where Roger Perry, one of the founders of the Worcester County Editors Council, was editor of “The Norton Spirit.” It also contains the sign-in book for SPC’s 50th Anniversary, and a video of the Silent Auction in 2002.
Box 6 contains financial records which SPC may wish to dispose of after a period of time, including bills, bank statements and cancelled checks.
Dates
- 1949
Conditions Governing Use
Access: Permission from Archivist required. Some materials may be restricted to SPC directors.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright restrictions may apply.
Biographical / Historical
The following brief history is taken from the SPC Membership Directory for 2005-2006:
“Formed in 1951 as the Worcester County Editors Council, this organization was established by newsletter editors from Worcester’s largest manufacturing companies. The purpose was to meet and exchange ideas and information, as well as promote the benefits of the free enterprise system.
As the communications industry changed and grew, so did the membership of the Council. In 1990, its name was changed tot the Society of Professional Communicators (SPC) to reflect this.
Today’s SPC membership is made up of writers, editors, graphic designers, web designers, communications consultants and trainers, public relations practitioners, marketing and marketing communications experts, storytellers, photographers, proofreaders, printers, publishers and much more. Some are free-lancers, and some work in for-profit or non-profit organizations.
Regular meetings are held monthly from September through May, usually at lunchtime, and feature guest experts who share their ideas, knowledge and experiences in a variety of communications fields…
SPC also conducts occasional workshops and community service-related projects such as the Elaine Cencak Memorial Scholarship Program, which is offered to college students in the Colleges of Worcester Consortium (COWC) with declared majors in communications-related degree programs.”
Extent
6 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Custodial History
This collection was given to the WPI Archives & Special Collections by the Society of Professional Communicators in November 2007. The Society will add future records to the collection.
- Author
- Margaret Anderson
- Date
- December 2007
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the WPI Manuscript Collections Repository
