2006 Distinguished Service Award

The Academy, until the success of Elizabeth’s proposal, functioned on very limited and static assets. In 1992, when Elizabeth and her “co-conspirators” began to address the troubled state of our finances, the only funds in the ACA Treasury came from the collection of induction fees from the class of 1989 and from a limited number of new members joining the Academy through examination. To make matters worse, the only source of future income for the Academy was either new members or candidate re-certification payments, totaling approximately $250 per candidate, and this occurred at lengthy intervals. The first recertification for the Class of 1989 was scheduled for 8 years after initial certification in 1989 or in 1997. Other Certified Archivists were due to recertify on a five year schedule as was the Class of 1989 after the initial 8 year certification period. These factors obviously contributed to the root cause of the fiscal crises the Academy faced.

As first-term Vice President Elizabeth (at this time the office of vice president served two years and had responsibility for exam development, as well as exam administration) and her colleagues knew that they had to move the Academy to a sounder fiscal foundation or it would face insolvency. Elizabeth proposed to the Officers and the Regents that the ACA assess all Certified Archivists annual dues and the Board agreed. In preparation for facing the membership with the proposal, they worked long and hard on a position paper trying to anticipate every objection.

In August of 1994, at the annual meeting, Elizabeth made the proposal to the membership that all Certified Archivists pay yearly dues. The ACA membership, according to Carla Summers, was quite forward thinking and approved the dues initiative with little protest. It was a critical turning point - we literally averted insolvency and ACA’s income finally came close to covering expenditures. Moreover, the groundwork was firmly set for continued fiscal improvements and gains. According to Carla, “Elizabeth was the leader who made it possible. She also was instrumental in implementing an investment strategy for ACA.”

When Elizabeth was notified of her selection to receive this award, her first comment was that she was not alone in spearheading the initiative, her colleagues were every bit as noteworthy as she. The ACA would also like to recognize and congratulate Carla Summers and Claudette John for their contributions to the survival and growth of the organization. Elizabeth also wryly observed, “it is gratifying, but one would think a somewhat dubious honor to be remembered for instituting dues! I am very pleased to receive the news.”

Jim Byers
It is also our distinct pleasure and honor to announce the recipient of the second 2006 ACA Distinguished Service Awards. The recipient of this award was a well kept secret of the ACA Board. We feared that the recipient, being an excessively humble and modest person, might balk at the presentation, so we didn’t tell him. This award goes to former ACA President (2003-2004), Vice President (2002-2003), and Treasurer (1997-1999) James Byers. Jim’s greatest contribution to the ACA is also in the financial realm.

The Academy changed from a five-year income cycle to an annual one before Jim became Treasurer. Academy funds were still exceptionally low when Jim took office, as the full impact of an income based on annual dues had not yet been completely realized. The treasury in 1997-1998 was capable only of covering expenses, thus clearly not allowing for the development of proactive programs, operating reserves, or funds to invest as Elizabeth’s earlier proposal recommended. At its lowest point, the net assets of the Academy were no more than $23,000.

Jim’s greatest contribution to the Academy was to, as he puts it, “simply raise a flag, point at all of the numbers, and explain how long we had before we were out of money.” His analysis and hard work in projecting fiscal scenarios and proposing remedial actions were keys to saving the Academy from financial calamity and helping it bridge the gap between a period of unpredictable income streams and a stable and routine income generated mechanism.

It was largely due to Jim’s patience and communication skills that the Board fully recognized the critical financial situation and resolved to make drastic business changes. Jim proposed rather Draconian measures for cost cutting and expenditure restriction. Travel reimbursements for board members were significantly cut and employing institutions or individuals were asked to fund a larger percentage of the cost of attending ACA’s two annual meetings. According to Jim, “I think that most people on the Board were sufficiently concerned that no one really made a serious suggestion to spend any additional funds until I left office. By then, funding from annual dues had stabilized the budget and we could consider other expenditures. After that, ACA’s financial situation turned around and the Academy developed into a solidly solvent organization and is likely to remain so in the future.”

Jim Byers is certainly worthy of this citation solely because of his outstanding ability and vision as Treasurer at a critical time, but his generosity of spirit on behalf of our organization is also commendable. One such act of his generosity is exemplified as follows. Jim and his wife, Jane, had planned and looked forward to a recent vacation to Italy, and had no intention of visiting Eastern Europe on this particular trip. However, an opportunity arose for a representative of the ACA to deliver an important paper on behalf of the Academy to the VII European Conference on Archives [European Division of the ICA] in Warsaw Poland in May of this year (during the time in which Jim and his wife planned to be vacationing in Italy). Jim graciously agreed to change his vacation and travel to Poland and deliver an excellent paper – to an appreciative audience.