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Hi, and welcome to this episode of Crate Conversation. I am so excited to be here today with Blake Ridgeway. He is a Boy Scout here with our within our town, and I'm so excited to talk about some of the awesome things

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that you have done. So, tell me a little bit about yourself. >> Well, first of all, hi. Thank you very much for having us here. This is amazing. And um So, what So, last year I raised $60,000 in 4 months to go to Yellowstone

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National Park and the Grand Tetons. And I also did a few community service projects. There was helping out the homeless and helping out kids families that have kids with cancer. If you're familiar with Ocean of Love, then you

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already know, but in case you don't know who Ocean of Love is, um they're a nonprofit organization that helps families with kids with cancer, and I sold popcorn for 2 days at their Billboard Radiothon with 95.9 The Rat

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radio station. And I And throughout those 2 days, I sold $3,637. >> That's awesome. That's a lot. >> entire all 100% of the profits went to

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the Ocean the organization. I even convinced the council so the Boy Scout council, so it was mine, there's 100% of the profit went to them. >> Oh, that's wonderful. Very cool. So, what What is your I I didn't ask you this

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before, but what is your um You sold a ton of popcorn, obviously. I hear you are third in the nation for sales, which is and we're going to get you to first next year, right? I think that's the goal, right? >> I actually >> [laughter] >> recently started selling 2 weeks ago,

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and I've already made $10,000. >> Oh my gosh. What is the window for selling? So, when do you when do you start and finish? >> So, I got to start a little bit early and the end is at the end of the year. >> Oh, okay. So, you have till like December 31st. >> Yes. Exactly. >> Okay.

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All right. So, because you sold so much, I have to ask you, what is your procedure or what is your how do you get uh so many sales? What are some of the things you do? >> first thing it's uh you have to have a good sales pitch and good enthusiasm.

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So, how I get people's attention with with the hook is, "Hi, I'm Blake the Scout. CAN YOU HELP ME OUT?" AND I made it rhyme a little, too. >> Love it. >> And [laughter] people are like, "Oh, what's going on here? I have to check this out." So, then I proceed to bring

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them over to my stand, wagon, whatever I have, and I tell them about the flavors. And this year, I even made up a little song. >> Oh, really? >> of like a rap. >> Okay. >> And uh do you mind if I show them? All right. So, it shows all five flavors of popcorn. There's sea salt, sweet and

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salty caramel, salty caramel, [applause] white cheddar, max's better, it's unbelievable butter. >> I love it. I love it. So, that's like your kind of like your elevator pitch. When people come up to you, you've got to buy this popcorn, and uh you've obviously done really well with that.

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Where What are some of the places where you end up selling? >> So, I do some wagon sales around my neighborhood for sometimes, but then storefronts, which all scouts can do both of those, is one of my biggest sellers.

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Like um like Stop & Shop was really nice. And that's where I hit $50,000 last year. I thought I was done. That was my initial goal. And then I hit $60,000, and that was like, "Wow." But, then I have a few secret selling

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spots that I cannot disclose, unfortunately. >> Sorry about that. >> No, that's right. We're not going to talk about [laughter] those. >> But, that is a really good Those are some Those are my places that I use. to. >> fantastic. love that. So, you talked about uh Ocean of Love and that is one

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of the benefactors of some of the profits from your popcorn. Is there anyone else that you give donations to from all of these sales? >> Yes, so I also forgot to mention the homeless like I was talking about earlier. So, for the homeless, I made up this myself.

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But, first we have to backtrack of how I thought of this. At the Ocean of Love fundraiser, I thought, "Well, sure we have the money to them. What about some popcorn for them?" So, instead of buying for yourself, you could also choose to donate a popcorn to the kids.

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>> Oh, I love that. >> So, I had about $890 worth of popcorn donated to those kids. And then, that sparked the idea of I should keep doing this. And then, I had 113 ready-to-eat

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bags sold and raised for the homeless. >> I love that. That's such a great idea. And you're going to continue that, I guess, this year as well. >> Yes, except this year, I think the food pantry cuz it's hard to find the homeless people, but the food pantry, they can always just go there. >> Sure. Oh, that's a great idea. I love that.

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>> I already have four raised for them this year. >> Okay. That's fantastic. Wonderful. So, you mentioned earlier on Yellowstone and Grand Teton. And so, some of the money that you raised allowed you to take that trip, correct? >> Yes.

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>> So, what are some of the things that you experienced on that trip that made it really worthwhile? >> There was a One of my favorite places was the Grand Prismatic. I have a water bottle that even has a picture right here. >> Okay. >> And I can tell you a few facts about

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that. Around the It's so this is like a hot spring, and around here are the bacteria pools, and they can reach really high um temperatures like 200°. You do not want to touch those or

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falling. Actually, I heard a bison died when it got too close to it. That was sad. And but it's not hot where the bacteria is not cuz you can see you can't see it on here, but there's gray instead. Where

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This is the hot zone of the bacteria and then there's the gray zone which has nothing in it. >> Mhm. >> But they're Oh, sorry. They're called bacteria mats. That's different. >> Then there was also Old Faithful, the

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biggest geyser I think in the world. So, that was real That was an amazing experience. The first time we went there, it was um it was not what I was hoping. I was like, "Oh, I thought it would be bigger." >> would be better, right? >> we stayed [laughter] and went to uh

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the center where the I forget what it's called. There was like a gift shop. That's where I got the water bottle. And there was >> Like the ranger center or whatever. Yeah. >> Yeah, that. And there was some things like They even So, I I um I have a 720-day

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streak on Duolingo and I learned Spanish. So, they had Spanish translations there. So, I was reading the Spanish instead of the English. So, I practiced. >> But what after that, then it was time for the next eruption. That was like

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three to five times better than the original one. So, it can go it can go random sizes, I guess. >> That's a great experience. So, you must have loved that. I think that sounds fantastic. So, for the for I guess selling for the rest of this year, what

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are your goals for yourself for 2027 should you make a lot of sales? Like what would you like to see or do? >> So, I have three big goals and those are to go to the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, and an international camp area on Normandy Beach in France where D-Day

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happened. >> That'd be amazing. >> Yeah. >> Oh, fantastic. So, you're going to do a little bit of It's not just sightseeing, you're learning while you're there. A little bit of science >> Completely merit badges, too, or partials of the merit badges. >> That's amazing. So fantastic. So, you

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have a great sales pitch. I can see that. Um and you're very dedicated, obviously. And um I noticed it just one other thing that doesn't have anything to do with the popcorn, but I did want to talk about also. We spent a lot of time prior to the interview talking about some of your artwork, which is

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obviously a passion for you as well. So, um if you I know that you had uh an art show recently. So, in the future, where do people go to see art like uh that has been done by you or other scouts or or family? [snorts] >> So, for So, it's not all the scouts that

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go to my art school. It's just me and my sisters that I know of and I have friends >> I just want to point out. I saw all their artwork, too. >> Uh >> [laughter] >> So, it's Inspired Minds Art School. And so, shout out to them. They have really good teachers. And the art shows are

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very fun. They provide snacks for you. There is even a scavenger hunt this year. And that was amazing. Uh and my sister was featured in one of the in the one of the things of the scavenger hunt. But now that I'm thinking about it, I

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we all were. >> Yeah. Oh, that's awesome. Good for you. Fantastic. Well, that's a shout out to you for that as well. So, you have a lot going on. And and you're only 12. >> Yeah. >> Right? Well, I always say only 12. But you're 12. >> 13. Almost 13. So, I'm super proud of

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you. I think this is amazing. Uh it's been really wonderful. I had a chance to talk with you and your family about some of the great things that you're doing. And I'm super psyched. I know that I hope that you make it to the Grand Canyon next year and Niagara Falls and to the beaches of Normandy because that is

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that would be an amazing trip, >> Yeah. >> I sure, for you. >> And one more thing, and you the viewers may be wondering how do I see those Yellowstone and Grand Tetons videos and pictures or the upcoming trips of scouting. You can look up Blake the Scout on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and

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Facebook. My mom runs it since I'm young, but I still apply the comments, but she makes sure it's safe. >> Excellent. I love that. So, we're going to put all of that up on the screen. If you want to follow Blake on social media, you may see uh all the adventures you're on, but also maybe the spots

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where your popcorn sales are going to be happening. So, if you want to help make these trips happen, look for that as well on social media, right? >> Yeah. >> That's awesome. Is there anything else you want to share? >> Yes. So, I would like to say I um with your help maybe I could meet senators

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and the governor. >> Okay. >> So, I don't know if you have contacts with them. >> know, but I'll work on it for you. I'll see what I can do. >> Another thing is I'm homeschooled and my mom's a single mom, so she works this mom thing full-time. She is known as

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popcorn mom, too, for during popcorn season. So, she works her butt off trying to help what with whatever she can to make our lives great. And what she can't do, Scouts helps with that. So, that's how I've been fundraising.

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And um what else did I have? Oh, yes. The National Jamboree in West Virginia, I'm going to go there in 2 weeks. Work on some merit badges there, and I think it'll be really fun. And uh what else?

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Oh, yes. Also, um did I mention this year I'm trying to go for $80,000? >> No, you did not. So, that's a big one. >> [laughter] >> So, $80,000 and anybody can join our troop and pack from

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kindergarten to eighth grade or I think. So, it's ages 5 to 17. 18 you would age >> Oh, so that's like high school then. It's like any age. >> high school yeah >> Yeah, you got that. Yeah. No, that's cool. Fantastic. I love this. So, that

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was a great shout out for the Scouts as well. If you're interested in joining the Scouts or you want to join this troop, please reach out. Obviously through social medias would be a quick way to do it, right? And let's help Blake get to $80,000 in sales this year,

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right? >> One more thing. For the Scouts, for our troop and pack, we are going sailing and to this is later this summer, the Rain Gutter Regatta, paddle boarding, fishing, and a lot of other fun things.

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So, I really hope that you can join us and if you can't, that's okay. And don't forget to follow the journey. >> That's awesome. And we can build your troop up, right? That'd be fantastic. I love that. Oh, thank you so much for coming today. I learned a lot about what how you make these sales, but not only that, but all

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the cool things that you can do as a Scout. So, I love having Scouts on. You are some of the most enthusiastic well-educated people that I've ever met and I'm so excited to pass along all the hard work that you're doing. So, thank you so much for coming on today.

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>> Oh, I think I forgot to mention that I want to become number one in the entire country this year. >> Yes. >> So, >> We're going to make that happen. >> Thank you very much. >> Yeah, let's bring that together. I think we can make that happen, right Blake? I love that. So, we're going to make that happen. Help Blake out. Let's make him

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number one in the country for sales and get those trips going for him so he can learn as much as possible. >> Because I want to help out the community that I was brought into. >> Awesome. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> you have a great day. That's so fantastic. Thank you everyone for joining us and we'll see you on the next

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great conversation. That was awesome. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Woo!