Hawaii’s ARMA Chapter was founded in 1974 to promote and advance the improvement of information management, through education, study, and research to advance professional records management knowledge and techniques by sharing and exchanging experiences; and to develop and advance standards of professional competence in records and information management. Carl Spears served as the first Chapter President.
The Chapter, a Hawaii Domestic Nonprofit Corporation, is officially registered as the “Association of Records Managers and Administrators – Hawaii Chapter, Inc.”
The Hawaii Chapter membership includes government and private industry records managers and administrators, records management consultants, records storage and records disposal vendors, and microfilming and electronic record services vendors. Though the Chapter is located in Honolulu, the Chapter has had members from Hawaii’s outer islands, including Maui and Hawaii Island.
Since its inception, the ARMA Hawaii Chapter has held public monthly membership meetings and site visits that address records/information management or general topics of interest to the business and government community. Speakers at these meetings have ranged from vendor presenters to bank presidents to the mayor of a large city to the governor of the state. The Chapter was fortunate to learn from its own members talking about practical ideas, such as recovering from a fire disaster and how to start a records management program. The Chapter also conducts educational site-visits to records management-related businesses and government agencies.
Chapter members have spoken at other ARMA chapters, regional and association conferences. They also have spoken to other organizations on records management and other various topics. The Chapter is fortunate to have had several of its members serve on ARMA International’s various association and regional committees, groups and task forces – several as chairs.
For over 45 years, the Hawaii Chapter has served as a valued resource to Hawaii’s records management professionals. With its core of dedicated members, the Hawaii Chapter will continue to help records managers and information management professionals face the challenges of current and future business and technology change.