50, 25, 10 years: looking back ...

• Position: UPFRONT 50TH YEAR BONUS CONTENT

Remembering William Benedon, CRM, FAI

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Just before this magazine was to go to press, we learned of the April 14 passing of its founder and long-time editor, William Benedon, CRM, FAI, at the age of 92.

Although we acknowledged Bill's 18-year contribution to Records Management Quarterly (1967-1984) in the initial "Looking Back" section in January, he made so many more contributions to the records and information management (RIM) profession and this association for which he should be recognized. ARMA International President Peter Kurilecz, IGP, CRM, CA, highlighted a few of these in a message sent to ARMA members after learning of Bill's passing:

Bill was a trailblazer for our association and profession, serving for two decades as founder and editor of our first periodical, Records Review, and its successor, Records Management Quarterly; writing the first definitive textbook for the profession--aptly entitled Records Management; serving as the association's president in its earliest years and later as the president of the Institute of Certified Records Managers; and being the first person inducted into ARMA International's Company of Fellows. Through more than 50 years of writing, speaking, training, and mentoring, Bill had a significant impact on the career growth of countless records management professionals and on the development of the records management principles and practices we all use daily. I, personally, saw him as a visionary and a respected voice in records management. He is remembered on the ARMA International Educational Foundation's website as "one of the founding fathers" of the profession; as the second recipient of the Emmett Leahy Award for his achievements as an analyst and consultant with the National Records Management Council, and--as supervisor of public records for New Jersey--for writing one of the first records management legislative acts...