Congratulations to Philip Goolkasian, 17 year old Eagle Scout of Sequoia Council in Fresno CA who is the winner of the national logo contest for the upcoming 100th anniversary of the BSA! Philip’s design was chosen from over 4,000 entries from US Scouts around the world, and he got to finalize his design by working with renowned designer Kit Hinrichs at his Pentagram Design studio in San Francisco. According to this newspaper article Kit is a cloth collector himself, though it’s not patches he pursues. Rather, it’s American flags, and he’s authored a book on the subject as well. He reportedly has over 3,000 stars and stripes artifacts in his collection.

Personally I think the design of the new logo is awesome, and am happy that it was created by a 17 year old Eagle Scout (with some help from another, slightly older Eagle Scout) instead of selected from a bunch of marketing samples provided by various ad agencies.

And although I can’t see the computer in the pictures on this page, the keyboard, mouse, and display all appear to be Apple products, so I’d venture a guess that the 100th Anniversary of the BSA logo was “made on a Mac.”

The first version of the Kecoughtan Lodge 25th anniversary flap reversed the black background of the standard flap with a white one, and replaced the silver border with a black one.

A reorder of this flap resulted in a smaller version with no stitching around the flags. This flap was originally classified as “QS1″ in the first edition of the Blue Book, indicating that it was not an official lodge issue, based upon reports that it was rejected by the Lodge upon receipt and returned to the manufacturer. Later editions of the Blue Book record it as the “S4.5″ issue, apparently granting it status as an official lodge issue.

The final version of the 25th anniversary flap changed the lettering of the “W’s” and the Lodge number from white to black, and were the same size as the original S4 version.

Note: I am testing a cool new WordPress plugin called Highslide Photopress that zooms thumbnail images when they are clicked on. Try it with the images above! For more information about Kecoughtan Lodge emblems and history, please visit my web site http://kecoughtan.com

In the back of my mind I would still like to have a CSP collection that includes every active council, and an OA collection that includes every active lodge, because those are attainable goals that don’t require winning the lottery to obtain the super-rare issues.

As 2008 has arrived I’ve thought a lot about what I want to achieve with my collections, since I’ve drifted without any clear direction or purpose for awhile (other than working on my Kecoughtan Lodge needs, which have become difficult to find as the list gets smaller).

Fellow collector and patch blogger Bill Mulrenin posted a timely article to his blog, Set A Goal for Your Collection in 2008 that I heartily recommend for all collectors, whether you collect Scout patches or anything else. Many of his points rang true with my own, especially the importance of organizing, identifying, and cataloging the items that make up your collection.

Without knowing exactly what you have, you can’t know what you still need, what you have in duplicate to trade, or what you’ve accomplished already. Not long ago I finally gathered all of my Kecoughtan activity patches, spread them out and sorted them into piles by decade, and discovered that I have managed to acquire no fewer than 3 of several because I hadn’t kept my own needs list updated. My system of tossing newly acquired patches into a box to “sort through when I have time” hasn’t proved successful in helping me enjoy the additions, keep track of them, or store them properly either.

I know that I want to get more patches in 2008, but I’ve suddenly realized that what I really want to accomplish is organization of my collection. To that end I am setting a goal for myself of locating all of my Scout memorabilia, identifying it, properly protecting it (in a ziplock bag or non-PVC album page), labeling it with the issue information and a unique asset tag, and cataloging it so that I will know without a doubt what I have, what I need, and how I can help fellow collectors with their needs.

In my New Year’s zeal I’ve bought an inexpensive barcode scanner, a package of labels, and spent a day cataloging my Kecoughtan items. I got through the arrowheads and chenilles before I lost initiative because I haven’t decided how I want to store the flaps. But at least it’s a start, and now that I’ve shared my goal with the world you can keep me motivated by asking how I am progressing, and sharing tips with how you manage your collection.

The National Office of the BSA is seeking assistance from every youth Scout in the country to help design a memorable logo for the 100th Anniversary of Scouting in the United States. The contest is open until November 30 and every entrant will receive a certificate of participation and a patch.

It’s a fantastic opportunity to have your creative efforts recognized. To learn more, check out the 100 Years of Scouting National Logo Contest web site.