Lehighton Scout eclipses $3,000 in popcorn sales

Based on his credentials, Ryden Chapman may want to consider a career in sales when he comes of age.

Because if the early returns are any indication, the Lehighton youth is one day likely to strike pay dirt.

Not only did Ryden reach his ambitious goal of selling $3,000 worth of popcorn; he surpassed it.

The fifth-grader who attends school at Lehighton Area Middle School, sold $3,100 in combined in-person and online sales.

“It makes me feel a lot awesome,” said Ryden, 10.

Ryden’s mother, Theresa Chapman, said he received his order form Aug. 1 when they went to the Popcorn Kick Off for their pack’s supplies, along with his Top Seller Award.

Chapman said they then sold popcorn from Aug. 2 through Oct. 23.

She said Ryden’s sales earned him a $75 gift card to the Scout Shop, along with an RC Car, prizes and the full popcorn patch set, and he’s hoping he sold enough for the Top Seller Popcorn Jump Party at Sky Zone.

Chapman said that Ryden will cross over from Cub Scouts Pack 82 to Boy Scouts Troop 187 in December, and can hardly wait to start the next chapter in his scouting career.

“Ryden says he plans to work on hitting new areas of town to help build toward his goal for next year,” she said. “We also hope to do more show-n-sells in the fall to help reach it, as many customers enjoy having the products right away when ordering.

Chapman said Ryden hopes his success in the sale shows younger Scouts in his pack that it is possible to reach the “cooler prizes.”

“I was excited he hit the scholarship level this year,” she said. “Now, each year no matter how much he sells, 6 percent will be put into the scholarship.”

Chapman added, “Watching him get excited each night when we totaled up the day’s sales and seeing how close he was to his goal was amazing.

“He keeps brainstorming ideas on how he can be the best salesman he can be and exploring new options to see how they work,” she said. “For example, we took my tablet and made a slideshow of the products for when he would do his live videos each week. We hope to use this idea next year while selling door to door.”

Chapman, who said it took about four hours to deliver the popcorn, noted that they laminated the product sheet this year so that it would look neat longer.

She said Ryden’s goal next year is to sell $5,000 worth of popcorn.

With his performance history, anyone would be hard-pressed to bet against him.