The records of the Association of Wisconsin Planners are typical of the documentation generated by professional organizations, consisting chiefly of constitutions, minutes, correspondence, committee files, chapter files, conference material, and financial records. Also like the collections of most professional organizations, the AWP records tend to be stronger with regard to internal matters, while its commitment to public education and outreach are incompletely covered.
As the collection was compiled from files maintained by numerous individuals, the documentation varies considerably. There is, for example, extensive material on several of the organization's annual conferences, even including copies of addresses delivered, but other meetings are virtually unrepresented. Fortunately, minutes, probably the most important type of documentation for examining any organization's history, appear complete except for the AWP's early years. Gaps in the primary historical record are further supplemented by an incomplete run of the AWP newsletter available in the Historical Society Library.
Historical material, which begins the collection, includes the last issue of the AWP Newsletter, which was a brief history of the organization prepared by William A. Brehm, Jr., and chronological notes.
The constitutions document AWP's original sense of professional and public mission, and through various draft revisions, how that purpose was articulated in the following years. Also present is a notebook of material of a related character apparently compiled about 1975, containing copies of correspondence and memoranda which pertained to the operational policies of the group.
Minutes date from 1952, when the organization was primarily focused in Milwaukee, to the final meeting of the organization in 1982. However, the files on the early years appear incomplete and minutes for 1964 are totally absent. The chronologically-arranged files include material on both the membership meetings, which featured professional presentations within a gathering that was largely social, and the executive board meetings, which were business and policy sessions. In addition to agenda and proceedings, the minute files also contain some correspondence, memoranda, notes, announcements, financial summaries, and other types of functional documentation which duplicates files elsewhere in the collection.
The correspondence was drawn from separate files of several state and regional officers. As a result of the varying practices of these officers, the coverage here also varies in completeness. Of special note is a file of uncertain provenance dated 1929-1939 which contains correspondence and membership lists pertaining to the Wisconsin Planners Club and the Wisconsin City and Regional Planning Association, In general, the correspondence concerns administrative functions.
The chapter files consist of correspondence, fragmentary minutes, and announcements of meetings and conferences of the various regional subdivisions of the AWP after 1967. Most extensively represented is the Northern Chapter. Alphabetically-arranged committee files document several specialized internal activities. Included are membership rosters, candidate slates, and information on professional awards. Most disappointing is the file on the legislative committee which documents lobbying activities of the late 1950's, 1969, and 1980-1981 only. Once again, the newsletter provides useful although not primary information about the association's legislative activities and positions on specific bills.
Conferences, a few of which were jointly sponsored with the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Institute of Planners, were designed to focus public attention on specific planning and environmental issues. Included are planning correspondence, programs, announcements, financial information, and press clippings. For a few select meetings, the collection includes copies of papers presented to the group. The proceedings of the 1973 conference, Growth Centers of Wisconsin, are available in the Historical Society Library. The collection also contains tape recordings of three AWP workshops on zoning, industrial development, and subdivision control; unfortunately, the tapes could not be identified from the conference records in the collection.
The association's financial records consist of annual and quarterly statements and summaries.
Photographs, primarily from the Association of Wisconsin Planners Conference, May 25-26, 1972, include images of Governor Patrick J. Lucey.
