GCHA launches October membership drive

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GCHA press release

Grand County Historical Association launches October Membership Drive to boost membership and support the preservation of history and education in our community. Membership and support will assist in keeping our museums open. GCHA is offering a
$5 discount to all new members.

The Grand County Historical Association was founded in 1974 following in the footsteps of the Grand County Pioneer Society. An ad was placed in the paper requesting anyone who was interested in becoming involved in preserving Grand County history to gather at the home of Reggie Black author of “Island in the Rockies”, the comprehensive work of our community’s history. On that evening, more than fifty supporters arrived and the Grand County Historical Association was born.

Through the next 45 years, members worked tirelessly to preserve Grand County history through publications, the establishment of four museums, the preservation of archives, and educational programs for children and adults. GCHA possesses three buildings listed on Historic Registers, Cozens Ranch Museum on the National Historic Register and the McElroy Livery Barn and Kremmling Depot at Heritage Park Museum on the State Historic Registry.

While GCHA supports cultural and heritage tourism in our community drawing 4,000 visitors to our museums every year, we also support the local community by offering free community events and free admission to every Grand County student so that they may have the opportunity to learn about our community’s amazing history.

With these accomplishments, GCHA has also faced adversity, mainly the loss of County funding. It was only with the support of funders and donors, GCHA was able to survive the loss of a quarter of our operating budget and keep our doors open. Since that time GCHA has relied on generous volunteers, supporters and members to continue operation. To date, GCHA receives 17% of our funding from grants, 13% from donations, 9% from memberships, 32% from events, 8% from admissions, 9% from gift shop sales, and 12% from investments. Every year operation is not a guarantee for GCHA and our museums; we rely heavily on the support of the community to keep our museums doors open.

For the month of October, GCHA is offering a $5 discount to all new members to build our membership base and open our doors to everyone. For $30, you can become a GCHA member and receive free admission to all of our museums, free educational programming and events, quarterly newsletters, discounted admission
to fundraising events and the knowledge that you are supporting
the preservation of history and education in our community.

Our mission is to bring together people who are interested in preserving and interpreting the rich history of our county. If you are interested in learning more about GCHA, how to volunteer or support, please contact shanna@ grandcountyhistory.org or 970-725-3939. If you would like to support history and education in our community, become a member at www.grandcountyhistory. com or stop by one of our museums.