=

Golden Spread Council
Popcorn Sale 2005 Information

Key Dates

· October 1- Popcorn Sale Begins Council-Wide Blitz Day

· October 27-  Popcorn and Prize Orders Due

· November 5-  Popcorn Pick Up, 8:00AM to Noon

· November 18-  Popcorn Money Due

District Sales Rally &  Unit Training and Orientation

You will be receiving an invitation to attend one of our popcorn training/orientation meetings this Fall.  We hope that at least one person from your unit will join us as we go over this year’s Take Order sale, the  product line up, and ways to earn BIG BUCKS selling Trail’s End popcorn. 

You can attend any convenient date or location.  Simply contact our office if you are not attending your district’s kick off so we can ensure you receive your unit’ spopcorn sales kit.

IT’S TIME TO START POPPIN’
NEED EXTRA $$ FOR UNIT ACTIVITIES?
HERE’S YOUR CHANCE TO EARN THOSE EXTRA $$$

This Fall, the Golden Spread Council will be running it’s Annual Council Wide Trails End Popcorn Sale.  The 2005 Popcorn sale is an excellent opportunity to raise funds for your unit and for your council supported programs.

Have just one fundraiser this year! …………What is your Ideal Year of Scouting?  That is, make a list of everything your unit would like to do in the coming year.  Now, build a budget to see how much money you need to raise to do all of this.  Sound like a lot??  Well, by putting all your effort into the Trail’s End Popcorn sale not only will your unit earn enough to do everything on your list but you will not need to do another fundraiser this year!

Units all over the country are discovering how nice it is to do only one fundraiser a year and still have a great program.  We are committed to helping your unit succeed.  Please contact your District’s Popcorn Chairman for help in planning your Ideal Year of Scouting and showing you how to make Trail’s End your only fundraiser this year.

The Annual Council Wide Trails End popcorn sale is by far the best way to earn money for your unit!  By planning your unit’s “Ideal Year of Scouting” you can arrive at a sales goal for each Scout in your unit.  The Scouts then go around with the order form taking orders for Trail’s end popcorn until they have achieved their sales goal.  Your unit totals all the boy’s sales and you order just the popcorn you need to fill all the orders. 

 “Fill It Up” Program– NEW 2005!

New this year, any Scout who fills up an order form (25 unique orders) will receive a patch and certificate from Trail’s End.  Instructions are on the bottom of each order form.  This new program is a great way for you to set a sales goal for your Scouts.  Have each Scout’s goal be a full order form!

 Prize claim forms should be turned in with your popcorn order.  To guarantee prize availability, the deadline for turning in prize claim sheets will be October 27, 2005 .  Units that do not turn in their prize claim form prior to December 15, 2005 will forfeit all claims to prizes.

Great Prizes for your Scouts in 2005!

Prize brochures will be included in your units Sales Kit which is distributed at the training session for your District.  This year’s prize program is sure to excite your Scouts!  Prizes will be arranged according to selling level.

   For each prize level, there are several prizes available from which a Scout may choose.  These prizes are illustrated in the color prize brochure the Scout receives.  If a Scout is not interested in a specific prize, he may choose the gift card that is indicated. Each Scout who sells at least one item can also order a Trail’s End patch or pin.

   All the prizes for a unit will be mailed directly to the unit’s Popcorn Chair directly from Trail’s End.    Remember, prize forms need to be turned in with your popcorn order.  We hope that this expanded prize program will be a good tool for your unit to use to encourage your Scouts to sell! 

Set Individual Goals.  Sales will Soar!

How can your unit sell more popcorn this year?  Have each Scout set a personal goal.  Have an adult leader sit down with each Scout, look at how much popcorn he sold last year and look at this year’s prize brochure.  What do you and the Scout feel would be a good goal to try to reach this year in sales?   Set a goal for each Scout.  Keep a running “goal chart” on the wall at den meetings or troop meetings.  Work with each Scout to reach his sales goal.  TIP:  Set goals in number of items sold, not dollars.  The average sale is $12.  So a goal of $120 is actually a goal of 10 items of popcorn… seems like a much more achievable goal to a boy!

“How to have Popcorn Success”
Some New Sales Ideas

·          

    Have boys set “number of units sold” goals instead of dollar goals.  A sales goal of 20 units of popcorn seems more achievable to a boy than a goal of $250!  History shows that the average sale is $12-13.

·          Have Scouts contact last year’s popcorn buyers first.  Just about all will re-order.  This is a quick and easy way for a Scout to get to last years total and also builds confidence.   After he has renewed his orders, have him go out and get new customers.

·          Make popcorn your units only fundraiser for the year.  Sit down and figure out how much money you need for the year.  How much popcorn do you need to sell at a 35% profit?  What’s each Scouts goal?     

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2004 Popcorn Sales Kickoff Notes

1. Prizes available for each dollar level of sales ($100, $150, $200, $250, etc.) are in each Scout's handout package's prize sheet, which were distributed at the September 20th Pack Meeting. If you need another prize sheet, check with Chuck Freas or Marion Wynne.  There are no extra prizes not shown on the prize sheet this year except as set forth below for $500, $1,000 and $2,000 sales levels. If your Scout doesn't like the prizes, then he can opt to receive a Coleman, Wal-Mart or Toys-R-Us gift certificate instead (but not both).

2. We have the same popcorn prices and almost all of the same items from last year.  However, there is one new item -- a $50 88 ounce "Texas tin" with 5 different kinds of popcorn.  Sales Tip -- Scout Popcorn is about 10% or so cheaper than premium name-brand microwave popcorn in the grocery stores.  Its price is comparable with store-brand popcorn -- but better quality!

3. You can fax in your completed popcorn sales sheet to the Scout Center as soon as you have sold a total of 25 items (their fax number is 358-7470).  Then on each of the 3 Saturdays during the sales period the Scout Center will draw for prizes -- one for Cub Scouts and one for Boy Scouts -- one $40.00 and one $50.00 prize.  Each prize sheet sent in stays in the prize drawing hopper unless it is drawn for a prize; they don't empty the hopper after each prize drawing. So you have three chances to win with each completed sales sheet. That's 25 total popcorn items sold, not 25 lines of sales or a full 25-line form having been filled out.

4. The Popcorn Kernel is Chuck Freas and the Asst. Popcorn Kernel is Marion Wynne, same as last year. 

5. Make checks payable to "BSA".  That way we can, if we chose, either give the checks straight to the Council Scout Center to be put into our account there (and pay the Council one check out of that account) or put them into our bank account.

6. Additional Pack Prizes - for a certain amounts of popcorn sales; as set by each Pack.  Our goal is set for each boy per sales period (i.e., not per week), and our prizes are different from last year. This year, our Pack pays for one Scout to go to a Scout Day Camp or a Webelos Camp at Camp Don for each $300 in sales ($500 for two Scouts in one family; $650 for three Scouts in one family).  If one Scout has sales in excess of $300, then he can transfer his excess sales to another Scout of his choice in our Pack, up to a $150 transfer limit.  For bridging 2nd year Webelos we will give these Scouts 25% of their sales in cash (via a Pack check made payable to the Boy Scout Troop they are bridging to). These camp awards are in addition to the Pack awards given out to each Scout by Pack 1 -- beltloops, arrowpoint patches, rank badges, activity badges and pins, Pinewood Derby trophies, Progress toward Rank belt patches, Summer Activity award pins, Perfect Attendance pins, neckerchiefs, rank books, Quality Unit patches, Arrow of Light patches, Religious square knots, etc. -- all of which your Scout's popcorn sales provide. SALES TIP- parents, if your Scout is close to $300 (say $260) it pays you to personally buy enough popcorn to get him over the goal. Why?  Because if he makes the goal, the Pack pays for his Summer Scout Camp (camp fee is $45 for Cub Scout Day Camp and $55 for Webelos Camp), otherwise you would have to pay for the camp fee. That way you really are getting your personal supply of popcorn for free!  And, as an added bonus, if your Scout sells $400 in popcorn this year, our Pack will pay his re-charter fee ($22.80) in January, 2005.

7. A Popcorn Sales Rally will be at the September 20th Pack meeting! The Popcorn Kernel will go to each Patrol/Den Meeting on October 4th Pack Meeting for a Popcorn Sales Information Meeting, and to pass out popcorn sales forms..

8. Every child must make his sales in Class A UNIFORMS! Our goal this year is $9,900 -- $1,200 more than last year's sales and nearly a thousand dollars less than our 2000 popcorn sales. If we meet or exceed that figure, sales will entirely fund Pack 1 for all of our next year's programs, plus pay for other items (Scout Scholarships, etc.).

9. Key prizes for $1,000.00 (a $40 gift certificate plus a prize choice) and $2,000 in popcorn sales (a college scholarship plus a prize choice) from Trails End.  Price choices include telescopes and tents.  In addition, for every $500 in popcorn sales your Scout gets a raffle ticket for a chance to win a four-wheeled go cart!

10. Handouts to go each boy are order forms - 2 each; small Sales Product Sheet; and 1 sale prize sheet.  

11. Be Safe -- always go with an adult or an older sibling or another Scout to sale popcorn!  Never go inside someone's house -- always stay outside!  If someone asks you to come inside, say "No, thank you, I am not allowed to go inside."

12. We must send in to Scout Center only one Unit Popcorn Carton Sales Order form and one prize order sheet.

13. Sales start October 2nd but not before, because United Way's donations drive does not end until then, and the Golden Spread Council gets 20% of its revenue from the local United Way -- so we don't step on those toes (even if we know that other Packs and Troops may).

14. All popcorn sales orders are due not later than Friday, October 29th (for sales, prizes, etc.).  TIP- Turn the completed sales forms in by noon each Friday during the sales period to the Scout Center or to Popcorn Kernel Chuck Freas (who will fax them in before 5:30 pm to the Scout Center)(see above fax number) for the extra weekly prize drawings.

15. Pack Popcorn Pick-up Day - Saturday, November 6th - somewhere around 9:30 to 10:00 a.m.  Popcorn will be delivered to Pack 1 the a new location this year -- Artic Ice Company, at 45th and Georgia by the United Supermarket -- and will be taken to Pack 1's central distribution center, where all Scouts will go to pick up their orders and begin their deliveries.  Our pickup and delivery times are yet to be announced, but will be after the Veteran's Day parade that Saturday morning.

16. Popcorn sales money is due in by November 19th to the Council -- the Pack tenders only one check less our share of our 33% popcorn sales commission.  Each Scout can collect in advance at the time the order is placed, or when the popcorn is delivered.  (Remember, it's much easier to deliver popcorn if your orders are already paid for, you can just leave their popcorn on the doorstep and call later to remind them that it's there.)

17. Scouts turn in their popcorn sales orders first, then we tender a Pack check later to the Scout Center to pay for it all.  Make individual checks payable to "Cub Scout Pack 1."  Tell your customers that their delivery date is "on or after November 8th."

18. No sales tax on Scout Popcorn sales.

19. Call Popcorn General Bob Altman at the Scout Center (358-6500) for questions.

20. Scouts can Mix-and-Match their prizes as they choose, based upon each Scout's total level of sales.

21. Don't Forget -- Saturday, January 22, 2005 - POW WOW -- SIGN UP!!

22. Other general Scout Center contact persons are Golden Spread Field Director Doug Cooper, at 358-6500, or  Golden Eagle District Director Rhett Stevens at the same number.

23. Finally, a little more information from the Golden Spread Council: