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Sales Pop For Cubs

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 8, 2008

TOWN 'N COUNTRY - When it comes to incentives, few things can compete with cold hard cash - something the boys of Cub Scout Pack 20 are already learning.

For the past decade, the boys have been selling Trail's End popcorn to raise funds for their activities. Top-selling Cubs could win canoes, tents, bicycles, gift cards and other prizes.

Sales were good, but not spectacular. Then, two years ago, the pack started offering the kids cash incentives instead, and sales skyrocketed.

Not only have some of the Cubs pocketed serious money - well, serious for a kid in elementary school - but they also got to participate in a lot more activities funded by the pack, based at the Lutheran Church of Our Saviour, 8401 W. Hillsborough Ave.

When the pack started getting a larger sales commission three years ago, receipts went from roughly $4,500 to about $12,000. When Pack 20 offered each Cub a 10 percent return on his sales in 2006, their sales jumped to about $17,000, and last year they hit nearly $20,000 - not including another $1,500 in tips - said Gil Leimbach, church representative and treasurer for Pack 20.

For one Cub, Jonathan Oddson, that meant a check for more than $500 as a reward for sales of more than $5,000. Jonathan's mom, assistant Cubmaster Belina Oddson, said her son was quite a salesman even when prizes were offered. She said that one year he used a gift card prize to buy a Game Boy and Trail's End put a portion of his sales into a college fund for him.

But she said the cash incentive helps. "He doesn't spend his money so much, but he saves it. It is for college and himself. He calls it his 'stash.' He started a Roth IRA with some of the popcorn sales proceeds."

The year before popcorn sales were implemented, the pack's main fundraiser was a garage sale, which netted only $267. It was a lot of work for very little money, said Leimbach, who has been involved in scouting for 42 years.

In the first year of popcorn sales, the pack netted $1,700, keeping $1 for every $3 in sales, with the rest going to the Gulf Ridge Council, the governing body for Scouting groups in west central Florida. The sales commission for Scouting units is now nearly 50 percent.

While Jonathan topped the pack's list for individual sales, others racked up good totals, too. Granted, it was not all door-to-door sales. Two area Publix stores have let Cubs sell in front of their entrances, and parents often do a lot of the selling to friends and co-workers, Leimbach said.
Oddson said her son sold popcorn at Publix and door-to-door. Because she works at Tampa General Hospital, with access to a lot of co-workers, she was also able to sell a good amount of popcorn. "One doctor who was an Eagle Scout always buys some. He does not eat it. He gives it to staff members in the ER," she said.

Pack leaders are meeting this month to prepare for the upcoming sales campaign, which runs from September through November.

Cubmaster Jason Pelletier says the pack really depends on the popcorn sales to fund its activities but that the sales also teach lessons they will use later in life - salesmanship, showmanship and responsibility - and it builds self-confidence.

The popcorn sales are also a financial boon for the Gulf Ridge Council, said Jon Ralston, program director in charge of popcorn sales. Four years ago, the council had about $540,000 in sales. In the past two years, sales have been about $700,000, he said. The added revenue means the council has been able to keep down the cost of its three-day Scout camps and has money to maintain Scouting facilities.

Pack 20, by the way, is thriving. There were 42 Cubs in the pack this year, and it recently added 13 others from Pack 214, based at Lowry Elementary, after that pack folded.

For Leimbach, Cubmaster Pelletier and other pack leaders, the popcorn revenue means a lot more cash to spend on outings and gear for the boys. One recent big reward was a trip for the Cubs, plus one adult for each boy, to Jungala at Busch Gardens.

The outing included close encounters with elephants, tigers and other jungle creatures, two tours led by Busch Gardens staffers, food and an overnight camp in an indoor facility.

POPCORN PAYOFF

In addition to a trip to Jungala at Busch Gardens, revenue from popcorn sales has brought other rewards for the boys of Pack 20. Here is a look at how the pack spent its money in the past year:

•Tour of a Russian submarine docked in St. Petersburg

•Roller skating and ice skating outings

•A trip to Celebration Station

•A precision-engineered aluminum track for Pinewood Derby races

•An electronic finish-line timing device. Because cars finish thousandths of a second apart from one another, this takes the human element out of judging who wins and displays results for the boys to see.

•Payment of registration fee for each Cub, after the first year's fee is paid.

•Refreshments for pack meetings

•Awards for annual Blue and Gold banquet

•Neckerchiefs and scout handbooks

•Donations to a local food bank

•Contribution to Lutheran Church of Our Saviour, as thanks for use of its facilities.

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