 “A hundred years from now, it will
not matter how much was in your bank account, the sort
of house you lived in, or the kind of car you drove. But
the world may be better because you were important in
the life of a child.” This quote from an unknown
author clearly depicts how Mike Shaw views his position
in the community, and most notably his work with the Boy
Scouts of America.
As a member of the Board of Trustees for the Denver Area
Council, Mike Shaw has worked for many years to share
both his time and his treasure in helping the youth of
Denver.
For more than ten years he has served
as chairman of the Denver Area Council’s Trail’s
End® popcorn sale. Mr. Shaw has provided leadership,
recognition i tems,
events, and motivation to his team of volunteers.From
its modest beginnings, the popcorn sale is now a huge
success,realizing almost $3-million in annual sales here
in the Denver Area Council. Over the years many millions
of dollars have been raised by the local Scouting units
and the Council to support the Scouting program. These
funds have helped ensure that the cost of the Scouting
program in Denver is kept affordable to all -- for money
should never preclude a Scout from participating.
As the council’s Popcorn Chairman,
Mr. Shaw recognizes that to grow the sale we need to motivate
and train the Scouts, the unit Popcorn Chairs and the
District Popcorn Chairs. He personally underwrites the
cost associated with recognition items and recognition
events for all three groups.
Mike Shaw’s involvement in the
popcorn sale, Scouting and many other community organizations
illustrates that we all stand a little taller when we
stoop to help a child.
Jim Hans
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I work in advertising, so I know the importance
of getting the word out to the masses. I have discovered
how little attention the popcorn sale receives in
the community, and I think there are many great lessons
to be learned from this fundraiser, ones that will
stay with the boys for life.
So many parents get caught up in the
fact that the popcorn is expensive. But, I have fully
embraced the concept that we are NOT SELLING POPCORN.
We are selling a valuable program -- SCOUTING -- to our
communities. Few people buy the popcorn because they need
it. They buy it to support Scouting. That is something
that I have tried to "sell" back to our parents.
We train our Scouts on the script to use
and it really helps. They always introduce themselves,
tell the customer why they’re selling, then ask them
to help support their Scouting program by buying popcorn.
At first, my son and his buddy were
reading the script. Then, one day they surprised us and
had it memorized. Consumers consistently would purchase
9 out of 10 times! And, when they complete a transaction,
they ALWAYS say, "thanks for supporting Cub Scouts."
We have a lot of people pat the boys
on the back and tell them to stick with Scouting! It's
really valuable to me that my son is recognized and commended
by a stranger for being a Scout and is encouraged to stick
with it.
If there is ANYTHING I can do to help with PR for Popcorn,
please let me know. I am more than happy to help, and
you won't find many as enthusiastic as I am!!
Stephanie Vosper
Pack 235 Kernel
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