2000 Leahy Award Presentation

Emmett Leahy Award Ceremony
October 24, 2000

Introductory Remarks :

Robert Williams, Chair, 2000 Leahy Awards Committee

The 2000 Emmett Leahy Award presentation is a very special occasion for three reasons.

The first is that this year's recipient is the first winner of the 21^st Century.
The second is that the presentation of this very special award is part of this gala 25th anniversary celebration of The Institute of Certified Records Managers.
And the third reason this presentation is very special is that the recipient: by every standard, is a person who can be said to be, "a legend in her own time".

One of the most important criteria that the Leahy Award Committee looks for in candidates is their impact on the profession of records management. How does the Committee assess an individual's impact on the profession of records management? Clearly, you must accomplish a great deal - a great deal not just in behalf of your employers, but also a great deal that influences and benefits others - your professional peers and your associates.

For most nominees, the "written" contribution of their professional impact takes the form of professional articles; for a few, it includes writing books. For most nominees, the "educational" component of their professional impact includes presentations at conferences and seminars; for a few, it includes organizing and creating such events.

For many nominees, the professional "standards" aspect of their impact includes participating in professional standards work; for a few, it is truly establishing new standards. For many nominees, professional impact means actively participating in professional organizations; for a few, it is leading such organizations.

This year's recipient is one of the "few" in all of these important measurements of impacting the profession of records management. But this person is more.

As Emmett Leahy was a true pioneer in the profession of records management, this year's recipient also has been a true pioneer in the profession.

We honor someone who, in the opinion of many peers, wrote the "bible" of our profession - a book that decades after its original publication still serves so many as not only an great source of information but also inspiration.
We honor someone who has truly "set the standard" in our profession, not only in the excellence of the book that I referenced, but someone who also played a "keystone" role in establishing and maintaining the personal standard of our profession: The Institute of Certified Records Managers.
And maybe most importantly, we honor someone who has done what very few have the opportunity to do: to be like Emmett Leahy in having a vision of "what should be" and having the tenacity to make it a reality.

On this occasion at the dawn of the 21st century, it is most appropriate that we honor with this year's Emmett Leahy Award a person who has personified for the last several decades of the 20th century the axiom of being an example for others to set their standards. So...

For her landmark contribution to the literature of records management,
For her legendary contribution to records management education - through the classes that she taught and many more where her book was the sentinel text,
For her pivotal contribution to the Institute of Certified Records Managers,
For her perceptive vision to conceptualize critically important needs in this profession and
For her erstwhile commitment to excellence in all that she undertook to make her visions a reality for all of us to benefit from,

Please join me in congratulating the year 2000 winner of the Emmett Leahy Award, Dr. Mary F. Robek.

Emmett Leahy Award Acceptance Remarks:

Mary F. Robek

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