A Guide to the Records of the Communications Office of Governor Lawrence Douglas Wilder, 1989-1994 (bulk 1990-1993). Virginia.35539, 35581, 35586

A Guide to the Records of the Communications Office of Governor Lawrence Douglas Wilder, 1989-1994 (bulk 1990-1993).

A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Accession Number 35539, 35581, 35586


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Processed by: Staff.

Repository
The Library of Virginia
Identification
35539, 35581, 35586
Title
Communications Office Records of Governor Lawrence Douglas Wilder, 1989-1994 (bulk 1990-1993).
Extent
39.2 cu. ft. (112 boxes)
Creator
Virginia. Govenor (1990-1994: Wilder).

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Governor Lawrence Douglas Wilder, Records of the Communications Office, 1989-1994. [cite specific accession used], State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Accession 35539 was transferred by Lawrence Douglas Wilder, October 31, 1996.

Accession 35581 was transferred by Lawrence Douglas Wilder, October 21, 1997.

Accession 35586 was transferred by Lawrence Douglas Wilder, November 5, 1997

Processing Information

Original folder titles have been retained.

Historical Information

Lawrence Douglas Wilder was born in Richmond, Va., on January 17, 1931. He graduated from Virginia Union University in 1951 and afterwards was drafted into the Army, where he served in the Korean War from 1952-1953 and received a bronze star. He then attended the Howard University School of Law and graduated in 1959. Douglas Wilder was elected to the Virginia Senate in 1969 as the first African American member since Reconstruction and served in the Senate for five terms. In 1985, he was elected to the office of Lieutenant Governor as the first African American to be elected to statewide office in Virginia. L. Douglas Wilder won the election for Governor of Virginia in 1989 and served from January 13, 1990 to January 14, 1994. He was the first African American to be elected as Governor in United States.

The Office of Communications was responsible for all media relations and announcements. Duties included drafting press releases, responding to press inquiries, compiling daily news summaries, preparing certificates of recognition, releasing the Governor's public schedule, writing speeches, compiling briefings for press conferences and interviews, and working with the National Governors Association. In December 1989, Governor L. Douglas Wilder selected Laura Dillard to serve as Director of Communications. Dillard had formerly served as Governor Wilder's campaign press secretary. She resigned in August 1991, along with her Deputy Dirctor of Communications, Michelle Prosser. After her departure, Glenn Davidson was named Director of Communications. Davidson had previously served as the the Director of the Virginia Liaison Office.

Scope and Content

Communications Office records, 1989-1994, are housed in 112 boxes and are arranged by series. These records document the activities of the Communications Office during the administration of Governor Lawrence Douglas Wilder and include director's correspondence and subject files, Governor's public schedule, media advisories / press releases, newspaper clippings / news summaries, publications featuring Governor Wilder, and trade mission briefing binders.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into the following series:

Series I. Director's Correspondence and Subject Files, 1990-1994; Series II. Media Advisories, 1989-1994; Series III. Governor's Public Schedule, 1990-1993; Series IV. Media Packets, 1991-1992; Series V. Trade Mission Briefing Binders, 1991; Series VI. Newspaper articles about Governor Wilder, 1990-1993; Series VII. Publications featuring Governor Wilder, 1990-1993; Series VIII. Newspaper clippings by Subject, 1989-1991; Series IX. News Summaries, 1990-1994;

Contents List

Series I. Communication Director's correspondence and subject files , 1990-1994 Jan (Acc. 35539) .
Boxes 25-41, 65-67
Extent: 7 cubic feet (20 boxes).

Communication Director's correspondence and subject files, 1990-1994, are housed in 17 boxes and are arranged alphabetically, within each chronological subseries. Subseries are designated for correspondence and subject files of Laura Dillard, 1990-1991 Aug (Subseries A) and correspondence and subject files of Glenn Davidson, 1991-1994 (Subseries B). Correspondence and subject files include incoming and outgoing correspondence and topical files that may include agendas, brochures, conference materials, news clippings, news releases, newsletters, procedures, promotional materials, public service announcement scripts, and reports. This series includes inauguration planning records, State of the Commonwealth address planning records, and media requests forms for interviews.

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Series II. Media advisories , 1989-1994 Jan (Acc. 35539) .
Boxes 42-47
Extent: 2.1 cubic feet (6 boxes).

Media advisories, 1989-1994, are housed in 6 boxes and are arranged chronologically. These press releases alert the media to administration announcements and initiatives, including appointments and resignations; bill signings; proclamations; information on clemency, pardons and executions; recognition of important events; economic development announcements; and the Governor's public appearances, speaking engagements, or interviews.

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Series III. Governor's Public Schedule , 1990-1993 (Acc. 35539) .
Boxes 48
Extent: .35 cubic feet (1 box).

Governor's Public Schedule, 1990-1993, is housed in 1 box and is arranged chronologically. These weekly schedules provide a listing of the Governor's public activities and attendance or appearance at events, such as conferences, meetings, receptions and interviews. Schedule includes the date, time, event, location, and the Governor's role in the event (interview, remarks, address, sign documents, dedication, attend, speech, photo op, etc.).

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Series IV. Media Packets , 1991 Oct-1992 July (Acc. 35581) .
Boxes 49
Extent: .35 cubic feet (1 box).

Media Packets, 1991 Oct-1992 July, are housed in 1 box and are arranged chronologically. These media packets include weekly public schedules distributed to media outlets with accompanying material such as media advisories, exerpts of remarks and news articles.

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Series V. Trade Mission Briefing Binders , 1991 (Acc. 35586) .
Boxes 1-2
Extent: .7 cubic feet (2 boxes).

Trade Mission Briefing Binders, 1991, are housed in 2 boxes. These binders document trade missions to both Europe (1991 June) and Asia (1991 October). The European Trade Mission traveled to Belgium, Great Britain, Germany and Poland; and the Asian Trade Mission traveled to Hong Kong, Japan and Korea. The briefing binders include scheduling information (events, participants, travel logistics), prelimary information (overview of mission and country), background information for meetings (participants and issues), and general background information (new articles, business reports, companies in Virginia, overview of trade and investment in Virginia).

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Series VI. Newspaper articles about Governor Wilder , 1990-1993 (Acc. 35539) .
Boxes 50
Extent: .35 cubic feet (1 box).

Newspaper articles about Gov. Wilder, 1990-1993, are housed in 1 box and are arranged chronologically. This series consists of photocopies of newspaper articles about Gov. Wilder.

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Series VII. Publications featuring Governor Wilder , 1990-1993 (Acc. 35539) .
Boxes 50-54
Extent: 1.75 cubic feet (5 boxes).

Publications featuring Gov. Wilder, 1990-1993, are housed in 5 boxes and are arranged alphabetically by name of the publication. Each publication includes an article about or interview with Gov. Wilder. Includes the entire original publication and may also include a photocopy of the individual article.

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Series VIII. Newspaper Clippings by Subject , 1989-1991 (Acc. 35581) .
Boxes 55-64
Extent: 3.5 cubic feet (10 boxes).

Newspaper Clippings by Subject, 1989-1991, are housed in 10 boxes and are arranged alphabetically by subject. This series includes photocopies of news articles from both state and national newspapers. The bulk of these clippings were gathered and organized between January-May of 1990, when the topical collection and arrangment of news clippings seems to have abandoned. Also includes bound sets of news clipping relating to the 1989 gubernatorial election (incomplete - gaps in coverage) and 1991 news articles about Presidential candidates. See also Series IX. News summaries, for news articles in chronological order, 1990 June-1994 Jan.

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Series IX. News Summaries , 1990 June-1994 Jan (Acc. 35539) .
Boxes 3-24a
Extent: 23.8 cubic feet (68 boxes).

News Summaries, 1990-1994, are housed in 22 boxes and are arranged chronologically. These news summaries consist of photocopies of news articles of interest that were distributed to the Governor and his staff on a nearly daily basis.

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