Our History

The South Carolina Association of Educational Office Professionals (SCAEOP) has a proud history that is now 34 years old and laden with accomplishments.

​SCAEOP was organized in 1982 by founding members, Pearlious Bledsoe, Marian Garrett, and Edith Stewart under the name the South Carolina Association of Educational Office Personnel. This is also the year that the association affiliated with the National Association of Educational Office Professionals (NAEOP). In 1984 the first SCAEOP Annual Conference was held in Charleston, South Carolina. Two years later, in 1986 SCAEOP began its affiliation program and also recognized the first SCAEOP Office Professional of the Year. In 1987 the association began publishing its first newsletter named The Palmetto Educational Secretary. This is also the year that they recognized the first SCAEOP Administrator of the Year. A year later, in 1988 the first SCAEOP student scholarship was awarded.

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In 1992 the name was changed to the South Carolina Association of Educational Office Professionals and the association was officially organized as a Non-Profit Organization. In 1995 the first SCAEOP Executive Board Retreat was held. That was followed by an endorsement by the South Carolina Association of School Administrators (SCASA) in 1996. SCAEOP hosted the NAEOP Mid-Atlantic Conference in Greenville, South Carolina in 2000 and was awarded their first Member Scholarship in 2001. This is the same year that they developed a presence on the World Wide Web.

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In 2004 the Employee of the Year award name was changed to the Betty Blanton Office Professional of the Year to honor our first award recipient. The following year the name of the award for the Student Scholarship was changed to the Marian Garrett Student Scholarship to honor a SCAEOP Charter Member. The association has received numerous national awards and recognition over the years for its members, excellence in communication, newsletter, and website. SCAEOP has also hosted State, Regional, and the National Conferences twice, in 2000 and 2017 in Greenville over the last 36 years and we look forward to many more accolades in the future.

SCAEOP is proud of all of its accomplishments and strives to continue to be a leader in providing professional development opportunities, awards, scholarships and community service for educational office professionals across the state. If you are interested in learning more about the SCAEOP history or any specific event email the SCAEOP Historian.