The Association of Secretaries was founded in 1979 by the Sales Manager of the Grand Hotel in Hartlepool who saw the need to bring together senior secretaries in the town on a purely social basis.

From those early beginnings, we now have 11 branches in Scotland, the North of England and the Midlands.

The aim of the Association is to bring together senior secretaries to discuss mutual and current matters of interest and to promote goodwill. It is not a political organisation.

As well as speakers at the regular monthly meetings, each branch arranges outside visits to places of interest and cultural activities. Courtesy visits to local hotels are also organised.

Fund raising plays an important role in the activities of each branch - most try to donate the proceeds of fund raising events to local charities.

A membership is levied in direct relation to the number of members and the amount of outside support a branch receives - this varies from £5.00pa to £25.00pa.

Most branches maintain a scrapbook/photo album which is of interest to old and new members alike.

Representatives of each branch attend a Joint Committee Meeting held in March each year where matters of interest to all branches are discussed. The Annual Convention is hosted by a different branch each year and is attended by approximately 200 delegates.

It is hoped to expand our network of branches throughout the UK in the next few years.