Byron M. "Red" Cavaney Papers

COLLECTION FINDING AID

BYRON M. “RED” CAVANEY PAPERS, (1972) 1974-76

Director, White House Advance Office;
Special Assistant to the President

CONTENTS

Summary Description | Biographical Information | Introduction | Series Descriptions | Container List

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Materials concerning the operation of the White House Advance Office and its logistical planning for foreign and domestic Presidential trips.

QUANTITY
19.9 linear feet (ca. 43,700 pages)

DONOR
Byron M. “Red” Cavaney (accession 87-NLF-020)

ACCESS
File units are available as review-on-request. Researchers wishing to view files should consult with an archivist prior to their visit in order to request that specific folders be added to the Library’s review-for-access queue. Even after the completion of this review some items may be temporarily restricted under terms of the donor's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request, or under National Archives and Records Administration general restrictions (36 CFR 1256).

COPYRIGHT
Byron M. “Red” Cavaney donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain.

Prepared by John J. O’Connell, August 2015
[s:\bin\findaid\cavaneypapers.doc]

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Byron M. “Red” Cavaney

February 26, 1943 - Born, Kansas City, Missouri

1964 - A.B. in history and economics, University of Southern California

1964-1969 - U.S. Navy

1969-1973 - Branch manager and assistant vice president for commercial loan development at the Security Pacific National Bank of Los Angeles

1969-1971 - Postgraduate coursework in finance at California State University at Long Beach

1972-1973 - Member, Advance Detail for the Republican National Committee (on leave of absence from Security Pacific National Bank)

February 1973 - Staff assistant, White House Advance Office

December 19, 1974 - Named Director of the White House Advance Office, succeeding William Henkel, Jr.

June 14, 1976 - Named Special Assistant to the President

1977-1981 - Vice-president of marketing for Ericson Yachts

1981-1983 - Deputy Assistant, White House Office of Public Liaison

1985 - Director of invitation and ticket control, Reagan-Bush Inauguration

1986-1994 - President and CEO, American Paper Institute; President and CEO, American Forest and Paper Association

1994-1997 - President and CEO, American Plastics Council

1997-present - President and CEO of American Petroleum Institute

INTRODUCTION

The Byron M. “Red” Cavaney Papers document the work of the White House Advance Office. As head of the White House Advance Office, Mr. Cavaney oversaw the planning for President Ford’s domestic and international trips. In this role he also selected volunteers to assist with the trips.

The files typically predate the official Presidential visits by two or three weeks as staff assistants met with local or foreign officials to negotiate agendas, secure living arrangements and transportation, and diagram site locations for entry and exit routes.

The International Trip Files focus on President Ford’s foreign trips from October 1974 through June 1976 to Asia, Europe, and two Economic Summit meetings. Included in the background materials are State Department briefing books on the destination country and an overview of cultural etiquette.

The Domestic Trip Files focus primarily on the Ford administration but trip files from the Nixon administration are also included in the collection. The background material is especially voluminous and varied for each Presidential trip with information about cultural sites, hotels, convention centers, airports, local schools, and universities. The Bicentennial celebrations in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Philadelphia are well documented, as is the 1976 Presidential campaign with material on the Ronald Reagan primary challenge and the Republican National Convention in Kansas City.

The collection also contains material on the administrative aspects of the White House Advance Office, including its use of volunteers.

Related Materials (March 2015)
Related materials are located in a number of other fully processed, partly processed, and unprocessed collections. The Trip or “TR” category of the White House Central Files is a fully processed collection of correspondence, schedules, and summaries for foreign and domestic trips. Similarly, the President’s Daily Diary offers a schedule of the President’s actions and the people he met during his trips. The National Security Advisor Security Files contains substantial material pertaining to foreign trips. The Peter Sorum Papers provide details into multiple domestic trips and the Europe trip of July and August 1975. On the purely domestic front, the Jerry H. Jones Files provide material on 1976 campaign trips. Researchers can identify the file locations of related open materials from PRESNET search reports. The personal papers of Byron Cavaney, Robin Martin, and Frank Ursomarso, and the White House office files of Warren Hendriks, William Nicholson and Warren Rustand, and Terrence O’Donnell provide additional insight into advance and scheduling operations.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

General File, 1974‑76. (Boxes 1‑4, 3.4 linear feet)
This series contains correspondence, pre-advance schedules, Advance Office manuals and forms, resumes, contact lists, maps, diagrams, brochures, aircraft manifests, and travel summary reports for domestic and international Presidential trips.

Arranged alphabetically.

View container list for this series

Personnel File, 1974‑76. (Box 5, 1.0 linear feet)
This series contains lists and resumes of Advance office staff and volunteers, in addition to administrative material related to personnel.

Arranged in two sections: General Material and Advance Office Staff / Volunteer Candidates. Both sections are arranged alphabetically.

View container list for this series

International Trips File, (1972) 1974‑76. (Boxes 6‑10, 4.5 linear feet)
This series contains memorandums, correspondence, schedules, lists, maps, diagrams, press releases, and press clippings on topics ranging from passport numbers to recommendations, action items, and discussions surrounding diplomatic scheduling, security, and protocol concerns. The materials address the President’s trips to Asia, Europe, and the Rambouillet and Puerto Rico Economic Summit meetings.

Arranged chronologically by trip date.

View container list for this series

Domestic Trips File, 1974‑76. (Boxes 10‑20, 11.0 linear feet)
This series contains memorandums, correspondence, schedules, lists, maps, diagrams, brochures, press releases, and press clippings pertaining to logistical and other planning aspects of domestic trips. Major topics include the Bicentennial Celebrations and 1976 Presidential campaign.

Arranged chronologically by trip date.

View container list for this series

CONTAINER LIST

Box 1 - General File