done shopping and ready to leave the premises, the member merely needed to drive to the side of the store where the plastic card was given to the security guard. The guard would call for a courtesy clerk to deliver the groceries, and the clerk would load them into the member's vehicle. Niceties such as this won many new members to Gemco, and created repeat business. Gemco was a preferred employer in many of the locations in which it did business. Unlike many other "discount" chains such as Payless, Gemco employed union members of the UFCW (United Food and Commercial Workers). Gemco also offered a credit department to help increase sales. It was particularly busy each year during the Christmas shopping period. On a trial basis, a few Gemco stores offered free babysitting while an adult was shopping in the store. The adult would drop off the child in the designated area of the store and would be given a ticket with a number on it. When done shopping they would give the cashier the ticket, who in return called the babysitting dept and a clerk would bring the child out to the parent. The parent could also pick the child up directly as well. After about one year of trial Gemco ceased operation of this trial. California law required a caregiver in a commercial operation to be licensed and insured as a daycare. Gemco also started the Gemco Charitable and Scholarship Foundation, a California corporation, in November 1959. The foundation held annual scholarship competitions in the areas where Gemco had stores. Each competition placed competitors, who were high school seniors selected by their schools, in a panel discussion format with judges questioning them about their views on discussion topics and requiring that they defend their positions. Several rounds of discussions would be judged to determine the winners. Winners were awarded one-time scholarships of up to $1,500.00 based on the judges' scoring of their performance, with lesser amounts being awarded to runners-up. The foundation's corporate rights have been suspended in California. Gemco members received a monthly catalog, the Gemco Courier, containing Saturday Evening Post-inspired cover art. Memco The East Coast stores, located in the Washington, D.C., area, were called Memco instead of Gemco to avoid confusion with an already existing area chain called GEM. Memco stores had a blue color scheme on its walls and signage. Memco honored Gemco membership