2006

Nominate a fellow archivist for the Distinguished Service Award!  Nominations are due to Brenda Gunn by January 15, 2007. More information.

Upcoming Workshops:

• OCTOBER
  The SSA Professional Development committee suggests that SSA members take advantage of the fantastic SAA workshop "Advanced Appraisal for Archivists" taught by Mark Greene, director of the American Heritage Center; University of Wyoming. The workshop will be offered in our region at the University of Houston-Clear Lake on Monday, October 16. Attendance will be limited to 40, so take advantage of early-bird registration and reserve your place today! If you are an SSA member, but not an SAA member, you will receive a $25 discount on the non-member price. Attendance of this one-day workshop includes a copy of Karen Benedict's book Ethics and the Archival Profession: Introduction and Case Studies. More information.
  
  Oral History: From Planning to Preservation takes place at Cushing Memorial Library & Archives, Texas A&M University in College Station, TX on October 6.  More information. 
   
• NOVEMBER
  Disaster Recovery: A Hands-On Workshop Presented by Munters Corporation and the Society of Southwest Archivists Saturday, November 11, 2006 from 8:30 – 4:00.  Registration is $75.00 and lunch is provided. Workshops will be at the Munters Recovery Center in Irving, Texas.    Registration Form and More Information.
   

• Paul Scott, Records Management Officer at Harris County, TX Records Center, received the 2006 Society of Southwest Archivists 2005 Distinguished Service Award.
   

2005

• Carol Mathias received the 2005 Society of Southwest Archivists 2005 Distinguished Service Award. Carol is Director of Libraries at Nicholls State University, Thibodeaux, Louisiana. She was program chair for the SSA's 2001 annual meeting in Fort Worth, SSA president in 2002, was a member of the Local Arrangements Committee for the 2003 annual meeting, and chaired the Awards Committee in 2003.  She is also a past president of the Louisiana Archives and Manuscripts Association and has been a leader in the Louisiana and regional archival communities.

  Mathias was named director of Ellender Memorial Library at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana, in May 2003. Mathias had served as interim director of the library since July 2002. She earned a bachelor's degree in history in 1979 and a master's degree in 1982, both from the University of Oklahoma. She later earned a master of library and information studies degree from OU in 1990. Mathias is also a certified archivist with the Academy of Certified Archivists. Mathias began work at Nicholls as an archivist and head of special collections at Ellender Memorial Library, a post she held until her appointment as interim director.

  Our heartiest congratulations to Carol.

   

• The Society of Southwest Archivists will present the one-day workshop "Recruiting, Utilizing, and Nurturing Volunteers in Archives" March 21, 2005, at the Austin History Center, 810 Guadalupe Street, Austin, Texas. The workshop is designed to inform and assist archivists to use volunteers in their archives. 
  
  The $15.00 cost includes a box lunch and materials. Receipts will be mailed to all participants along with information concerning parking near the Austin History Center. If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Canby Jackson at 713-368-7640. View the workshop program and registration form, and biographical sketches of the presenters.
  

2004

• Information about SSA's scholarships is now available for the 2005 year. Follow the link to learn more about SSA's four scholarships, how to apply, posters promoting the scholarships that you can print out and display in your archives, and lists of past recipients. Except where otherwise noted, the deadline for applying for all SSA scholarships is February 1.
  
  
• Leon C. Miller received the Academy of Certified Archivists Distinguished Service Award at its annual meeting in Boston August 12, 2004. Lee is a past regent and past president of the Academy and a past president and past Distinguished Service Award recipient of the Society of Southwest Archivists.
  
  
• April 14-16, 2005  Joint meeting of Society of California Archivists, Northwest Archivists, Society of Rocky Mountain Archivists, and the Conference of Inter-Mountain Archivists; Las Vegas. SSAers are especially invited to participate in this "super-regional" event. The deadline to submit proposals is September 15, 2004. 
  
  
• The SSA's annual mixer at the SAA meeting in Boston was a great success, with almost one hundred archivists from the SSA's region and beyond enjoying the event.
  
  
• 2005 Call for Papers Announced. The theme for the 2005 SSA annual meeting in Baton Rouge will be: "Today’s Archivists: Building Bridges to the Future." The deadline for submissions is December 3. Click the headline to read the complete call and for information on how to submit a proposal.
  
  
• With an outstanding program, excellent workshops, wonderful local arrangements, and near-record attendance, the SSA's 2004 annual meeting in San Antonio set a new standard. Learn more about it, including photos from the meeting.
  
  
• Welcome, Shelly Kelly, SSA's president for 2004/2005. Shelly is University Archivist, University of Houston -  Clear Lake.  She formerly served on the board, as chair of the site selection committee, as co-chair of SSA's very successful 1997 annual meeting in Galveston, Texas, and as program chair for the excellent 2004 annual meeting in San Antonio.
  
  Shelly became president at the San Antonio meeting, succeeding Kathlene Ferris. Visit the Leadership page to learn more about all of the 2004/2005 officers, board members, and committee chairs.
  
  
• Kinga Perzynska posthumously received the SSA's 2005 Distinguished Service Award. Two of her colleagues at Rice University, Nancy Boothe and Mandy York, accepted the award at the May 2004 annual meeting in San Antonio on behalf of her family. Learn more about Kinga and her many contributions to the archival profession locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.
  
  
• It's not too early to begin planning to attend SSA's annual meeting in Baton Rouge, May 26-28, 2005. Also, at the May 2004 annual meeting in San Antonio, Gerri Schaad, SSA's site selection chair, announced that the SSA board had agreed to hold our 2006 annual meeting in El Paso and our 2007 annual meeting in Oklahoma City.
  
  Claudia Rivers will chair local arrangements for the El Paso meeting, and Kay Bost will chair local arrangements for the Oklahoma City meeting. We look forward to seeing you there.
  
  
• Two SSAers have been elected to offices in the Academy of Certified Archivists. Long-time SSAer Michael Holland will be the Academy's new Vice-President / President-Elect, and Laura McLemore will become Regent for Outreach.
  
  Michael has been University Archivist for the University of Missouri at Columbia since 1997 and formerly worked in Austin, Texas. He has previously served as the Academy's Regent for Certification Maintenance.
  
  Laura is University Archivist for Austin College in Sherman, Texas, and will become University Archivist for Louisiana State University - Shreveport in the fall. Laura is a past president of the Society of Southwest Archivists. Our congratulations to Michael and Laura.

2003

• During the 78^th Texas Legislative Session senators and representatives filed over 500 bills that appeared to have significance to archivists, records managers, and records keepers.
  One hundred sixty-four passed with Governor Perry vetoing seven, one, SB 1154, because it would have had an adverse effect upon a planned public library and another, SB 1526, because it would have restricted access to public information about automobile vendors.  Others were vetoed because they were unnecessary or conflicted with provisions of other laws. Click for more.
  
  
• Cindy Smolovik 2003 Distinguished Service Award recipient.
  Cindy is SSA's long-time secretary as well as a leader in the Academy of Certified Archivists. She received the award in New Orleans at the May 2003 annual meeting. Click for more.