Scouting Hot Finds Boy Scout Memorabilia

Tens of thousands of Boy Scout youth and adult members are packing their bags and heading out for the 2013 National Boy Scout Jamboree this week.  You can count me among the crowd that is going to stream into a sleepy corner of West Virginia for the big event.  In tonight's episode of Scouting Hot Finds Radio I've got an update on the Mt. Hope Trade-O-Ree from Todd Kelly.  The TOR is going to run concurrent with the Jamboree and is opening Saturday!  I will also share some important information from Russell Smart regarding patch trading at the 2013 National Jamboree.  I hope to see some of you up in the mountains of WV over the next two weeks. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

Join me for the launch of a new and invaluable resource for the Boy Scout meorabilia collecting community.  Brett Estrade and I are formally launching http://www.patchtrends.com in this episode.  Roughly a year ago I published an episode of the radio show that finally comes to fruition tonight.  In that show on the Prices Realized Guides I longed for an online solution that would make the whole project more robust, searchable, and easily accessed by all collectors in the hobby.  When I was approached to partner with Brett Estrade on a new website that would do all that and much much more I jumped at the opportunity.  After several months of tweeks and feedback from beta users the site is now live as an online prices realized search tool for the hobby.  Catering strictly to the Boy Scout category of eBay this powerful program captures all completed sales listings (including images!) in an off-site database.  Subscribers to this new service can then type in any search term and pull up all results that match the

Mike McAdams with help from Chip Elliott has just published Philmont Millennium 1 Second Edition which can be found at http://www.philmontm1.com.  This book is the definitive guide to memorabilia issued for everyone's favorite high adventure base in New Mexico.  I was able to catch up with Mike at a trade-o-ree this year when he sat down with a group of collectors to discuss the project and impending publication.  Now that the book is out I'd like to share that audio and suggest you consider making the investment in purchasing a copy for your reference library.  Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

Tonight you will hear the conclusion of my interview with Deryl Radder who was the founder of the Scouting Collectors Society.  At one time this Yahoo club was the largest Scouting gathering of Scout patch collectors on the web.  In this episode he will share the story of the Y2K trade-o-ree and what led him to eventually pull the plug on the groups. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

Way back before there was the Scout Patch Collectors Facebook Group there was a time Yahoo was doing some really cool things with groups.  From 1999 - 2006 the largest place for Scouters to meet up online and swap stories and patches was the Scouting Collectors Society.  With a brilliant strategy to use club patches as incentives Deryl Radder grew his Yahoo group into a prolific trade-o-ree on the net.  Just when everyone was worried that the lights were going to go out on Dec. 31, 1999 he hosted an incredible Y2K TOR that went on for a couple of days straight.  The SCS also spun off the Lodge Members Society for OA collectors and included state rooms and groups for other topical trading and collecting areas.  As Deryl has noted online it took just about a year for the new Facebook group to eclipse his peak numbers and he sees the potential for a 10,000+ member Scout Patch Collectors Facebook Group.  Listen in to hear Deryl share the story of the Scouting Collectors Society including the details of his incent

Boy Scout collectors that have been in the hobby a long time know the Trade-O-Ree scene pretty well.  Your typical show is long on grey haired attendees and short on walk in traffic.  But there is another way.  John Ryan has been thinking outside the box for going on three decades with the Lone Star TOR in Grapevine Texas.  This year his show will include everything from a collections merit badge group to a youth patch auction that resembles musical chairs.  On Saturday the show will be the host for an official Philmont Staff Association reunion to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Scout ranch.  With an expected crowd of 150+ just for that add on piece you can bet there will be some "walk through" traffic at this show.  Tonight John Ryan is my guest on Scouting Hot Finds Radio to discuss his secret sauce for having a successful TOR.  If you want to hear some outside the box ideas that would really shake up the hobby listen in.  You might even get an explanation for another event on the schedule called pat

This is the show that all Boy Scout memorabilia collectors have been waiting for.  At the 2013 National Boy Scout Jamboree patch trading will be an official scheduled activity for the first time ever.  Patch trading between adult Scouters and youth Scouts will be allowed at a Jamboree for the first time in decades.  I would go so far as to say that my guest tonight is responsible for most of those changes.  As an avid collector and one of the top volunteers helping to plan and organize this summer's 2013 National Boy Scout Jamboree Russell Smart has all the answers that we've been waiting to hear.  What is the deal with visitors?  What about all those privately made staff patches?  What are the rules and how are they going to be enforced?  Can Scouts trade during the day while they are supposed to be doing program activities?  If you are going to the Jamboree then this is a show you need to dial in on. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

What's the plan for this summer's big 2013 National Boy Scout Jamboree?  The Volunteer Program Group Chairman Russell Smart is my guest tonight and he'll take us inside the game plan for the Jamboree.  One of the features is comparing how this new Jamboree experience compares to the familiar A.P. Hill setting that many of us are familiar with.  This is Part 2 of an interview that started with an incredible account of the new Summit Bechtel property in West Virginia. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

If you are on a contingent, signed up for staff, or just heading up as a visitor to the 2013 National Boy Scout Jamboree being held this summer at the Boy Scout's new Summit Bechtel Reserve property - then this is the show for you.  Russell Smart is my guest and as a volunteer he is about at the top of the food chain when it comes to the Jamboree.  Russel has responsibility for the program at the Jamboree and that is the subject of this interview.  But its not just going to be limited to my questions - we are going to take live callers beginning at 9 PM Eastern.  So if you are one of the 40,000+ planning on spending a few weeks in July at the Summit maybe you should pick up the phone and give us a call.  You can also email in questions to me at santeeswapper@yahoo.com.  BTW Russell is scheduled to come back on in 2 weeks to do a show focused on patch trading at the Jamboree.  Stay tuned! Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

Roy More of TSPA was in the middle of last year's ground shaking merger in Michigan that wiped out councils and may change the BSA playbook forever.  As Roy says in tonights show, some of this "scares the hell out of national (BSA)".  Listen in for a great show that should appeal to all Scouters. An email I got from a Scouting friend named Bruce McCrea explained some of this prior to the last NOAC which ironically was being held in Michigan. You might be interested to know that, as a result of the Area Project merger, the 2012 NOAC will be the last NOAC for the host lodge and 7 neighboring lodges.  By the next NOAC, those 8 lodges will be merged into 3 lodges. As you know, each BSA council is a legal entity while BSA Areas are simply subdivisions of regions and have no legal standing. The idea of the Area Project was to make the entire Central Region Area 2 the legal entity, moving reponsibilities like fund raising and camp operation and management to the area level. The eleven Area 2 councils voted on the fi

As a Scouting memorabilia dealer for over three decades Chris Jensen has seen a lot of the changes in the hobby.  He was one of the first big sellers of Boy Scout memorabilia when eBay launched and remembers the good old days when he couldn't list stuff fast enough.  In part 2 of my interview with Chris we talk about eBay and its changing fortunes in the hobby.  The conversation then turns to Trade-0-Rees a subject that Chris knows quite a bit about!  He shares the three reasons that people attend TORs.  Finally I ask him to share the story of Boxware his most famous product in the hobby. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

Back in the 1990s I was a college student who looked forward to the quarterly newspaper catalog of Boy Scout memorabilia that would show up in my university P.O. Box.  My guest tonight on Scouting Hot Finds Radio has been a full time Scout memorabilia dealer for going on three decades.  Chris Jensen, the owner of Streamwood.net is one of the most well known figures in the hobby.  He has organized dozens of trade-o-rees including ones at the National Scout Jamboree and the National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC).  He has published reference books on collecting merit badges and Order of the Arrow conclaves to name a few.  But perhaps he is most famous for the ubiquitous Boxware frames that sit on just about every TOR table around the country.  I've been waiting several months to tie him down for an interview and tonight you can hear part 1 where he opens up about his story and the hobby of Boy Scout patch collecting. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcol

Tonight's show is dedicated to a question that all hobbies face whether it be model train railroaders or in our case Boy Scout memorabilia collectors - how do you bring new people especially youth into the hobby.  While at the Dallas Trade-O-Ree I got the opinions of ten big names in the hobby to that question.  Ron Aldridge, Mitch Reis, Albertus Hoogeven and more gave me their ideas.  Listen in tonight to hear their answers and my take on how we can pass it on.  I will also be revealing the new focus for the Scouting Hot Finds brand for the coming year and talking about my big projects for 2013. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

On the show we have several guests who are on live to talk about the 2013 National Scout Jamboree Trade-O-Ree to be held in Mt. Hope, West Virginia just a few miles from the gates to the Summit Bechtel Reserve.  The town Mayor Michael Martin will be joined by TOR organizers Todd Kelly and Richard Mori to talk about the history of the area and what the Summit means to the area.  Having grown up in Mt. Hope including doing some camping as a Scout in the mountains around the Summit Michael brings a unique perspective to this topic.  Todd and Richard will share TOR updates as we turn the calendar closer to the July 2013 event.  We will take live callers so please listen in and call our guests with a comment or question.  Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

My guest tonight on Scouting Hot Finds Radio is Brian Ives of http://www.EagleScoutPins.com.  Brian is also known as eBay seller Discover626 and on tonight's show he will be sharing the details of how he got started collecting this unique are of Boy Scout Memorabilia.  We will learn about the Harmon Foundation Pin (Brian's most treasured pin!), the Knights of Dunamis, the National Eagle Scout Association, and some pins that just were introduced in the last 10 years.  Brian is also going to explain an eBook project that he has been working on for several years that will be published later this year.  Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

Straight from the pages of Scouting Magazine!  Will Scouts be able to continue the legacy of swapping patches at the Summit? See what your Scouts can expect when it comes to patch trading at the 2013 National Scout Jamboree.  My guest tonight is Spencer Haberman who was featured in the current issue of Scouting Magazine.  The article titled, "Summit Shakedown preview: Patch trading at the 2013 National Scout Jamboree" focused on Spencer's patch trading protest that he led at the 2012 Summit Shakedown.  From a group of 3 Scouts trading on a cot the movement grew to 300 Scouts within an hour and got the attention of the BSA executives and lead volunteers.  Tonight Spencer Haberman will share his story including how he caught the patch trading bug and what happened during the patch trading protest.  We will be on live and taking your calls!  See the article at http://scoutingmagazine.org/2012/10/summit-shakedown-preview-patch-trading-at-the-2013-national-scout-jamboree/ Find more Scouting memorabilia content and

In the summer of 2013 when 50,000 Scouts and Scouters get together for the first National Jamboree to be held at the Summit Bechtel Reserve you know there is going to be some trading going on.  My guest tonight, Todd Kelly is organizing the huge Jamboree Trade-O-Ree (TOR) for Boy Scout memorabilia collectors that will run from July 13th - 21st in the town of Mt. Hope, WV just a few miles from the Jamboree site.  Todd and fellow collector and business partner Richard Mori have made numerous trips to the home of the Summit to finalize plans for a national TOR that will draw Boy Scout memorabilia dealers and collectors from around the country.  In tonight's show, Todd is going to share the story of how he and Richard pulled together with the Mayor and City Council of Mt. Hope to make plans for the Mt. Hope Trade-O-Ree.  The TOR will be housed under a 4,000 square foot tent located in the historic football stadium that was carved out from the side of a mountain by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.  Be

Welcome back listeners!  After a nice break following the 2012 National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC) I am ready to launch the fall schedule of Scouting Hot Finds Radio.  These shows are dedicated to interesting topics related to the hobby of collecting Boy Scout memorabilia.  Past shows have included interviews with interesting people about different topics including segregated Scouting, trading patches on Facebook and eBay alternatives.  On tonight's show I'm going to touch on all of these and make an announcement regarding the new SHF radio archive.  In addition I'm going to announce the fall schedule of shows and get some listener input on topics and ideas.  The show wraps up with plans for the next version of the Prices Realized Guide.  I hope you will come and listen in! Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

Boy Scout patch collectors the National Order of the Arrow Conference just wrapped up at Michigan State University and now everyone is home recovering from a lack of sleep and sorting their patches.  I was in the trenches for 10 days including the NOAC Trade-O-Ree and lots of patch trading at the NOAC.  In this show I'll break down the winners and losers from the event.  Hear my take on the TOR and what was newsworthy on the patch trading trail. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

After nearly twenty years of research and a thousands of hours of work by an army of state editors tonight its here - The Camp Book II.  This is the definitive guide to collecting Boy Scout camps written by Bob Sherman, Dave Minnihan and Kevin Doyle.  Covering a full 1,000 pages this historical reference guide is probably among the most important works in preserving Boy Scout history on a national level.  Many of the details of early Scout council and camp history were lost to time until research from this team preserved it.  Tonight on the show Bob Sherman will share the story of how this two decade project finally came together in 2012.  He will recount the story of the original Camp Book in 1993 and how that 200 page guide has been exponentially expanded and improved for this 21st century edition. Anyone interested in purchasing the book will also be glad to know that live on the show we will announce the official launch of the book and it will go live for sale at http://www.scoutinghotfinds.com and also o