Historical Timeline
1983
- The first meeting of people involved in the profession of organizing held informal discussion meetings in their Los Angeles homes
1984
- The small band, still meeting informally, named itself the Association of Professional Organizers (APO)
1985
- Formalized the Association by electing officers: Beverly Clower, Stephanie Culp, Ann Gambrell, Maxine Ordesky, and Jeanie Shorr
- The first officers became Founding members
- Established membership dues structure and permanent meeting place
1986
- APO changed its name to the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO)
- First newsletter mailed to organizers from California and Maine
- NAPO members started to attract the press. Stephanie Culp wrote the first article on NAPO and it’s members for the Los Angeles Times
- Bylaws are written, approved and adopted
- Held second elections
- Federal and State governments granted NAPO nonprofit status
1987
- Established Code of Ethics and gave membership certificates out to members
- First Founders’ Award was presented to NAPO’s first President, Maxine Ordesky
- The Yellow Pages in California agreed to list professional organizers in the telephone directory
- Held 1st NAPO Conference, on September 12th, in Los Angeles, CA. Theme: “Success Through Organizing”. Attendance: 50
1988
- First National Board of Directors was formed
- Los Angeles became the first official NAPO Chapter. Other Chapters were formed using the Los Angeles Chapter as a model
1989
- Held 2nd NAPO Conference, on February 10-11th, in Redondo Beach, CA. Theme: “We Love Organizing”. Attendance: 100
1990
- Established Golden Circle designation for members in business for at least 5 years
- Established the Associate Member category. David Hochberg, of Lillian Vernon Corporation, was one of the original Associate members
1991
- Established Get Organized Week as an annual event
- Held 3rd NAPO Conference on February 15-16th, in Redondo Beach, CA. Theme: “The Future of Organizing”. Attendance: 150
1992
- NAPO Founders were honored with Lifetime membership
- Held its 1st Trade Show
- Held 4th NAPO Conference on May 14-17th, in Chicago, IL. Theme: “Strategies for Professional Growth”. Attendance: 141
1993
- Held 5th NAPO Conference on May 20-23rd, in Orlando, FL. Theme: “Together We are Better”
1994
- Held 6th NAPO Conference in March, in Tucson, AZ
1995
- NAPO celebrated its 10th Anniversary with a formal tea at the Ritz Carlton, in Los Angeles, CA
- Held 7th NAPO Conference and 1st Organizing Exposition in March, in Dallas, TX
1996
- Held 8th NAPO Conference and Organizing Exposition in March, in Santa Clara, CA
1997
- Established a financial reserve for the organization
- Held 9th NAPO Conference and Organizing Exposition in April, in Arlington, VA
1998
- Held 10th NAPO Conference and Organizing Exposition in June, in Portland, OR
1999
- Held 11th NAPO Conference and Organizing Exposition in March, in Cherry Hill, NJ
2000
- Established the Quantum Leap® Community Service Program
- The 12th NAPO Conference returned to Los Angeles to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of NAPO and the new millennium
2001
- Created “Members Only” section on the web site
- Initiated Chapter Visitation Program by NAPO Board members
- Launched Golden Tips booklet program
- Held the 13th NAPO Conference and Organizing Exposition in May 2001, in Austin, TX. 420 individuals attended, including 2 teenagers from Illinois, who were writing a book on organizing kids
2002
- Contracted with new association management company and moved the Headquarters to Atlanta, GA
- Held the 14th NAPO Annual Conference and Organizing Exposition in April 2002, in Atlanta, GA
2003
- Conducted first Leadership Forum for NAPO Board members, Committee Chairs and Chapter leaders
- Launched the automated referral system
- Launched an online membership directory
- Approved “The Organizing Authority” tag line
- Institute the Get Organized Week Community Service Project Program
- Held the 15th NAPO Annual Conference and Organizing Exposition on April 30 – May 3, 2003, in Denver, CO
2004
- Contracted with a new association management company and moved the Headquarters to Glenview, IL
- Clarified and adopted an official definition of a professional organizer
- Developed and implemented a Chapter Operations Handbook
- Established a professional organizer curriculum
- Initiated an online Associate Member directory
- Held the 16th NAPO Annual Conference and Organizing Exposition on April 28 – May 1, 2004, in Chicago, IL
2005
- Proclaimed January as Get Organized Month and developed a national public awareness campaign
- Instituted a Membership Ambassador Program
- Approved official launch of NAPO certification program for 2007
- Held the 17th NAPO Annual Conference and Organizing Exposition on April 27-30, 2005, in San Diego, CA
2006
- Adopted an investment policy for NAPO’s reserves
- Get Organized Month brochure wins AMEX award (Awards for Publication Excellence)
- Formed affiliations with Professional Organizers in Canada (POC), and Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD) formerly the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD)
- Held the 18th NAPO Annual Conference and Organizing Exposition on March 22-25, 2006, in Boston, MA
2007
- Signed a new collaboration agreement creating the International Federation of Professional Organizing Associations (IFPOA) with the Professional Organizers in Canada (POC) and Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD) formerly the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD)
- Established the Board of Certified Professional Organizers (BCPO)
- Held inaugural exam for certified professional organizers on April 25, 2007
- Purchased national sponsorship on National Public Radio (NPR) during the Get Organized Month to increase public awareness of NAPO and its members
- Developed the NAPO in the Schools Program
- Held the 19th NAPO Conference and Organizing Exposition on April 25-28, 2007, in Minneapolis, MN
2008
- Contracted with a new association management company and moved the Headquarters to Mt. Laurel, NJ
- Held the 20th NAPO Conference and Organizing Exposition on April 9-12, 2008, in Reno, NV
2009
- Transitioned to a digital format for the NAPO News
- Launched the Special Interest Groups (SIGs) program
- Approved the Emeritus membership category
- Established a long-term investment policy to better manage NAPO reserves
- Developed and produced the online Member Publicity Toolkit
- Developed an online Statistics Database
- Held the 21st NAPO Conference and Organizing Exposition on April 29 – May 2, 2009, in Orlando, FL
2010
- Created the first NAPO video to encourage conference attendance. This video was posted on the NAPO website and NAPO’s YouTube Channel
- Established presence in social media outlets, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube
- Created Wikipedia entries for the National Association of Professional Organizers® (NAPO), BCPO® and Certified Professional Organizers
- Implemented an electronic voting process for Annual Board Elections
- Implemented an online Job Board
- April 2010 marks the first Recertification term, as members of the 2007 Inaugural Class of CPOs enter their 2nd term of certification
- Held the 22nd NAPO Conference and Organizing Exposition on April 21-24, 2010, in Columbus, OH
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