Although ACA International is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, the roots of its flagship publication, Collector magazine, go back even further.
7/31/2019 14:00
The first issue of Collector magazine was published in 1934, as the official bulletin of the California Association of Collectors (CAC), Collection Agencies of Oregon, Collection Agencies Association of Washington and Pacific Coast Association of Collection Agencies. By its fourth issue, however, CAC assumed full ownership of the magazine.
In August 1940, the year after ACA was formed, a CAC delegation formally deeded Collector magazine to ACA. While ACA was grateful for the generous gift, the next few years were turbulent as the fledgling association struggled to publish the monthly magazine on limited funds and keep an editor on staff.
Despite its rocky start, Collector magazine ultimately found its footing, uniting ACA’s members and providing a way for those separated by states and even countries to stay connected.
Article contributions from ACA staff and members paint a picture of dedicated business professionals with one aim in mind—the betterment of the accounts receivable management (ARM) industry.
Over the years, Collector magazine’s interior pages evolved from black-and-white to full color, not to mention the multiple retoolings of the cover’s masthead.
“The” was dropped before the name Collector in 1980, though members—and ACA staff—clung to it in both conversation and articles for years afterward. In 2008, ACA debuted an interactive, online edition of Collector to supplement the print magazine.
Managing Editor Anne Rosso May joined ACA and the Collector magazine team in 1999 and helped launch the latest redesign of the magazine in 2015. To keep up with changing communication trends, Collector magazine’s Twitter account (@acacollector) debuted shortly after.
In its 85-year history, Collector magazine has raked in many awards for its stellar design and reporting, and today remains the longest standing print magazine serving the ARM industry.
Subscriptions to the Collector magazine digital edition and email notifications for each new issue are available for ACA International members by logging in to ACA International’s website here. Members and nonmembers can also purchase a print subscription. Nonmembers can create a guest profile on ACA’s website to subscribe to available publications.