It is very important that we do not duplicate GCA memberships. If you have been a GCA member at any time since the year 2002 you are still a present member. Although your membership may have lapsed and may be inactive at this time, you will still be renewing your GCA membership. One is only a "New Member" once. If you do not know your GCA membership number please just put the word "renewal" in that field.
Thank you!
From below , please Select either
" New Membership "
Or
" Membership Renewals "
Note: Select Renewal, for those that have been a GCA member at any time since 2002, even if you have let your membership lapse during that time.
 New Membership |
Membership Renewals |
GCA Policies - must read.
MEMBERSHIP POLICY
After tabulating and analyzing the results of a membership survey regarding fraudulent transactions, the Garand Collectors Association Board of Directors has developed the following policy. This policy is now in effect, and the Board encourages all members to read it carefully.
Conduct of Members
Section I.
Actions and performance of members that are not in the best interest of the Association and its membership shall be grounds for termination of a membership. Termination of membership shall mean permanent barring from any GCA function and elimination from the membership roll and shall be by action of the Board of Directors.Grounds for termination of a membership could include and are not limited to the following: nonpayment of dues, dishonest, fraudulent misrepresentation, malfeasance of office, conviction of a felony, issuance of insufficient funds check, dishonor or disgrace of the Association.
Section II.
A. Any member in good standing may file with any member of the Board of Directors of the Garand Collectors Association any complaint regarding transactions, dealings or relationships with any other GCA members. All complaints must be in writing, email, or email attachement, and complete details must be included. No verbal complaints will be considered under any circumstances.
B. The Board of Directors will investigate all complaints and insure that all parties involved have a chance to explain their positions. The Board of Directors may take such action as it deems necessary to resolve complaints that reach the Board of Directors. The action of the Board of Directors is final. The decision of the Board of Directors on any matter of complaint shall be considered in the best interest of the membership of the Garand Collectors Association and shall not subject the Board of Directors or any member thereof to personal liability.
GCA MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL POLICY
Our management company periodically gets complaints from members who failed to renew on time and therefore missed an issue of the GCA Journal. Here’s the GCA policy:
A. The membership year is September 1st to August 31st. Members sign a statement acknowledging this date on every membership application and renewal form.
B. Every new or renewing member is sent a membership card with the expiration date printed on it.
C. A renewal application is inserted in the Summer issue that is mailed about May 15th and received about June 1st. A renewal form is also available on the web site year-round.
D. As long as renewals are in before the Winter issue is mailed about November 10th, you’re “on time.”
E. That means on-time renewals are possible from about June 1st to approximately Nov. 1st and possibly until November 10th depending on when the Winter issue is mailed. That’s more than five months.
F. You can renew for more than one year if you wish.
G. In November 2009, an additional email was sent to those who had not renewed. Those who did not have Internet access or a valid email address were mailed a reminder.
H. Our printer does the mailing via Periodical Mail from his current membership list. He stuffs the envelopes by machine with one Journal for each member on his mailing list.
I. If you are not on the printer’s list by the time the first issue is mailed for the new membership year (Winter), you will not get one. If you renew later, then missed back issues must be processed manually by Attaché International. They are pulled and mailed First Class. Extra copies are printed for this purpose and if we underestimate late renewals, a short run reprint has to be ordered at a much higher cost per copy. If we over estimate, we have to provide storage space for the excess issues indefinitely.
J. You are not buying the missed issue and paying double cost, you are paying for the manual individual processing required to pull one (added labor), process your mail label, stuff it, and mail it ($1.56 postage). Multiply this by several thousand times and the labor cost becomes evident.
K. We will not hold your feet to the fire if you are few weeks late. If you are late renewing due to active military service or for any other valid reason, including forgetting, exceptions are often made. Contact our office about it: 816-471-2005 (9-5 Mon-Fri) FAX: 1-816-421-1991
L. Do we make mistakes? Of course. Anyone who cannot remember the last time they made a mistake, please advise how you do that.
Summary: To renew on time, you have from approximately June 1st when your renewal arrives in the Summer Journal to approximately November 1st when the first issue of the new membership year is mailed (Winter issue) or about five months. The Fall issue is your last issue per membership year.
It’s not that complicated, and we do all we can to accommodate procrastinators and those who forget. We try not to be inflexible if you are less than a month late. However, if you suddenly wake up in April of the following year to renew, then you have missed two issues. The cost to mail them requires the same individual processing, a larger envelope, and higher postage because of the greater weight. So renew early and on time!
This policy has been effective in that the membership dues of $25 have not increased in 10 years. The GCA Journal has evolved to full-color content, more pages overall, contains no commercial advertising, and more copies are printed and mailed than ever before.