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The Carolyn Sparks subseries consists of nearly five linear feet of records arranged alphabetically by type of material: assignment tracking, correspondence, departments, State of the State speeches, and topical. As Blanchard's Executive Assistant, Sparks performed many of the same tasks as Phillip Jourdan did as Chief of Staff. This is evident from the close linkages between the assignment tracking and correspondence files; Sparks' materials pick up where Jourdan's leave off. The department and topical files form the bulk of the Sparks' subseries and are arranged alphabetically by department and topic. These are a rich source on Blanchard's thinking and actions. All of these materials manifest Sparks' role as information broker for the Governor; clearly she was part a narrow loop of Blanchard confidantes. This closeness is further revealed by the State of the State speeches which have Blanchard's penned in notes and points of emphasis. These apparently were Blanchard's reading copies of the speeches.