wwattles wrote:
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If someone joins, then stops for a few years, then comes back and rejoins as a BAR, do they get the same number back, or does NAR assign a new number?
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As Steward replied, the NAR application has a blank for writing in your old number. Anyone can get their old number back....if they know it or if it is in the HQ computer.
Of course, sometimes people do not remember their old number (and may not have kept old magazines that had their number on the mailing label). The NAR HQ database system includes a history file database where expired memberships are moved to (Its not a dead archive. Sometimes people renew a bit late, so rather than Marie at HQ needing to re-enter the same data for a renewal, she presses a button to retrieve NAR number such and such from the history file, so she does not have to enter in any old data. And she looks to see that the address info hasnt changed, if it has then she updates it).
Anyway, for those who do not remember their old number, then Marie at HQ can do a find in the history file by name to look for and retrieve the old record (which of course includes the number).
Of course that only works for those who were members from around 1987-88 to now, from when NAR HQ transitioned from a literal index card file system to a computer system. Sometimes there are those who were members longer ago than that and do not remember their numbers, so they are not even in the computer history file. The ancient index card files still exist...but its just not practical to dig through them, so in that case a new number needs to be issued.
- George Gassaway
