When Boyd Williams attended the 1981 National Boy Scout Jamboree and traded a few patches he probably never thought he'd eventually become one of the well-known collectors in Tennessee.  However, after moving back home to Franklin, Tennessee in 1994 and getting back active in Scouting he soon caught the patch collecting bug.  As an active Scouter in the Middle Tennessee Council and Wa-Hi-Nasa Lodge 111 he started collecting everything local.  Along the way his passion for that local stuff led him to dig deep for council and district activity patches - something that many collectors ignore.  In fact one of the reasons he states for getting into that niche is that others were'nt interested in it.  So back around 2005 even though he admits to not being a computer genius he started building a website to document his collection and preserve the history of the activity patches from his council.  http://www.mtcpatches.com was built using a now defunct software program so when it crashed in 2013 he got help from a local Scouter and set about building it back from scratch.  Today, the website has neat district maps and every council and district patch that he knows of.  Boyd has even expanded to add a category for the Grimes Canoe Base and the shoulder insignia of the MTC.  In our interview Boyd and I talk about all this and I share how his site is an inspiration for me and should be to others. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

Justin Carlisle began collecting Boy Scout cancer awareness patches about the time that his Order of the Arrow chapter issued a patch to help raise funds for the local chapter of the Susan G. Komen Foundation in Greenville, SC.  Soon he discovered that several OA lodges had produced memorabilia to help find a cure for cancer and he was hooked.  With his own father falling a victim to cancer he decided to write a reference guide for others Scouting memorabilia collectors who were interested in this niche.  Teaming up with Brett Estrade who runs Patchtrends.com he put together a guide that has all known issues including pricing data.  In this episode of the Scouting Hot Finds Radio Justin and Brett share the story of this new collectors guide.  For other Scouting memorabilia collectors who have notions of writing a similar collecting resource guide Brett Estrade is willing to partner with them by offering his database of prices realized from the Boy Scout category of eBay.  At the time of this episode that catalog holds over 2 million price points. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

During the centennial of the Boy Scouts of America in 2010 John Soresen got the idea to create a traveling display that he calls Scouting History on Wheels.  In my interview with him today John shares the story of how he put together the display and what he is trying to share with the audience.  Perhaps the most unique thing he has done is assemble a patrol of Scouts in vintage uniforms to perform flag ceremonies in classic fashion.  John's story and willingness to be a Boy Scout evangelist for the movement should be an inspiration for all memorabilia collectors. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

In the conclusion of my interview with Brad England the coufounder of the Scout Patch Collectors Facebook Group we reflect back on how the group has impacted the hobby.  Brad and I also talk about how in many ways the group is an anomaly for Facbook in that is is uber-active.  Finally we make a wish list for tools that we lack as admins of the group. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

Brad England and I literally launched the Scout Patch Collectors Facebook as a direct result of this radio show two years ago.  I noticed Brad swapping Boy Scout patches on Facebook and lined him up on an interview to share his strategy.  Out of that conversation was born the idea to create a group on Facebook devoted to trading patches and the group was born.  In this interview the cofounders look back as the group climbs over 5,000 members with no signs of slowing down. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

For more than a decade the Scout Patch Collectors Base Camp has been the goto reference directory for those interested in Scouting memorabilia.  Glenn Chase is my guest tonight and I consider him to be one of the Internet pioneers of the hobby.  As the curator of the base camp since it launched he has probably seen every patch collecting website there is including many that are now long gone.  In this show Glenn shares the story of where he got the idea for the project and how he has kept it going all these years.  We also talk about his other hobby websites and he gives some great advice to those seeking to get started on a website project. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

Matt Delk has been collecting Scouting memorabilia just about his whole life. One of the most unique collections he has is Order of the Arrow belt buckles. This is a very niche collection and he shares his passion for it in this interview. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

When Gary Beadle looked up at the tall pine paneled wall of the Gulf Coast Council BSA Scout office he had an inspiration.  Why not decorate the beautiful wall with a true council collection of memorabilia.  He pitched the idea to the council board and Scout executive who were more than happy for him to undertake the project to commemorate the Boy Scouts of America's centennial celebration in 2010.  Tonight on Scouting Hot Finds Radio we dive into the question of how he did it.  Gary got retired professionals, families of deceased Scouters and even serious collectors to give him the pieces he needed to fill in the collection and he did the rest.  You'll even hear me ask some thorny questions about what the diggers thought about him having an official letter of introduction from the Council Scout Executive.  One of the reasons I wanted to bring Gary Beadle on to share his story is so that other collectors might be inspired to follow his example.  The idea of working with the council and or camp to put up a permanent display should not be radical idea for Boy Scout memorabilia collectors.  If Gary can do it so can you (and me!).  Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

Ted Thompson was like many Boy Scout memorabilia collectors when he ran up against a collecting roadblock about five years ago.  His main interest was council shoulder strips but when he got down to a final list of the twenty-five toughies he had to come up with something new to pursue to keep his passion for the hobby going.  He remembered the words of his camp counselor, "if you ever get any Project S.O.A.R. patches pick them up for me."  Before long he had all the national issue items and was on to digging through trade-o-ree bins for council and district issued event patches with a S.O.A.R. theme.  The program was first introduced by the Boy Scouts of America in the early 1970s and stands for Save Our American Resources.  Listen in tonight for my take on side collections and hear Ted's story on how he got into a fun and inexpensive collection that might be unusual for some.  What interesting side collections do you have? Send me an email and maybe we can get you on the air too! Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

Boy Scout memorabilia collectors in this episode of Scouting Hot Finds Radio I wrap up 2013 and look to new projects in 2014.  Over the course of the year there have been 18 episodes of the show published with interviews from interesting people in the hobby such as Russell Smart, Chris Jensen, Deryl Radder and more.  Some of my web projects such as BoyScoutTweet.com changed their focus while others like the Scout Patch Collectors Facebook Group continued to grow.  With the new year I'll be jumping right into some new projects including finding ways to help educate and bring up a new generation of collectors in the hobby. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.