SDA Dallas

A History to Be Proud Of

The Dallas Chapter is proud of the part it played as one of the early chapters of SDA. In 1969, Dallas formed a chapter called the Society of Architectural Secretaries (SAS) with 30 members. Their purpose was to facilitate communication among architectural secretaries toward furthering their education in all areas of architectural secretarial work; to enhance their abilities in that field; and, in general, to effectively contribute to the advancement of the profession of architecture, a noble cause!

In 1970, the group affiliated with and became the Dallas Chapter of the National Architectural Secretaries Association. When work began on developing a handbook for architectural secretaries in 1971, Dallas stepped up to write the chapter on Contract Documents. Over the years, Dallas members have served the national organization in many roles, including: Virginia DeMoen as Vice President in 1971 and then President in 1972, Judy Young as Vice President, Sydne Ferrara as Corresponding Secretary in 1980, Wanda Holcombe, CAA as President in 1987, and B. Carole Steadham, SDA/C, Hon. AIA. In addition, many of our members have held national committee positions, including Mildred Arnold, SDA/C; Sydne Ferrara; Frances Riley, SDA/C; B. Carole Steadham, SDA/C, Hon. AIA; Helen Stewart; Christy Shows; and Shirley Pope.

Another proud moment for Dallas came at the national convention in Cincinnati in 1980: Two out of the first four ASA members to receive Level 1 Certification were from Dallas: Sydne Ferrara and Frances Riley.

Through the years, Dallas has participated in all the national conventions, even sponsoring the convention here in 1999, as well as being a part of the success of the national organization as a whole.

As Mildred Arnold said, “The more our members know of our past, the better they can plan for the future. The ASA story confirms that our collective abilities are unlimited and to each member it offers an opportunity to learn and grow.”