As shoppers left Outdoor World on Dean Martin Drive recently, Wyatt Norrbom was waiting.
“Would you like to support the Cub Scouts?” he asked two shoppers as they left the complex, which houses the Bass Pro Shops store next to the Silverton.
While they said no thanks to the specialty popcorn Wyatt and other Cub Scouts were selling as part of a fundraising effort, it didn’t deter the 9-year-old.
“For every one yes, you’ll probably get nine who say no,” Wyatt said.
As Wyatt and his fellow Cub Scouts from Pack 96 have learned, a customer who says no is a step on the journey to the next yes, and this pack from Las Vegas has heard a lot of yeses.
Members of Pack 96 have sold more than $217,000 worth of popcorn, tops this year of any scouting unit in the United States and close to the all-time record of $246,000 set by a California troop.
Boys and girls of the Boy Scouts of America Las Vegas Area Council have been selling Trail’s End Popcorn at various locations — grocery stores, home improvement stores, pharmacies and other high-traffic shopping centers — since August.
Sales, which can also be made online, run until the end of the year.
Children from kindergarten through fifth grade can participate in Cub Scouts, which falls under the Boy Scouts of America umbrella.
Wyatt and his brother, 7-year-old Liam Norrbom, have put dozens of hours into the sales effort this year.
The brothers said they especially enjoy the fishing, hiking and camping trips that come with being a Cub Scout.
The proceeds from popcorn sales go, in part, to help pay for those trips.
Across its programs and activities, the Boy Scouts of America strives to promote “character and leadership development” in young people, according to its website.
Elizabeth Norrbom, Wyatt and Liam’s mother, is in her third year overseeing the popcorn-selling efforts.
“I’m incredibly proud,” she said. “I’m committee chair for the pack, and I took on the role three years ago because the person doing it then had to step away. I did not want to sell popcorn, I can tell you that. My first year, the pack sold $40,000 worth of popcorn, and it was COVID-19, so the kids were wearing masks and it was just a difficult time.”
During her second year in charge, the pack tripled that $40,000 figure. This year, the pack has blown both previous years out of the water.
“I think part of the secret is teaching our kids good sales skills — to make eye contact and things like that,” Elizabeth Norrbom said. “We don’t really talk about selling popcorn. We talk about supporting scouting, because that’s really what this is about.”
Along with the Norrbom brothers — Wyatt has sold close to $22,000 worth of popcorn, while Liam is responsible for nearly $10,000 in sales — 5-year-old Derek Zayas of Pack 96 has been a prolific seller.
Derek, 5, has generated about $34,000 in sales this year.
His mother, Ann-Marie Zayas, said her older son, who is also in scouting, has gained valuable social skills from popcorn sales.
She said the same has been true for Derek, who has learned a lot about money by handling the many transactions he’s had to calculate to reach $34,000 in sales.
“He counts the money, and he’s gotten good at adding and knowing what people get back,” she said.
This year, Boy Scouts in the greater Las Vegas area have sold more than $1.2 million worth of popcorn.
Ryan Moon, director of field service for the Las Vegas Area Council, said the kids in Pack 96 — along with all the other scouts in the valley who have sold popcorn this year — should be proud of their work.
“To be No. 1 in the nation, that’s a big deal,” Moon said. “The people here in the Las Vegas Valley are so generous. We’re very thankful.”