Prior Lake scout sells $7k worth of popcorn

Prior Lake American

More than $7,000 worth of popcorn is quite a bit of popcorn.

Prior Lake Cub Scout Logan Stendera knows this, because he sold that much popcorn this October as a fundraiser for his troop. His sales pitch is straightforward — “Hi, would you like to buy popcorn for the Boy Scouts?”

Every October since he joined the scouts three years ago, the third-grader has sold at least $3,000 in popcorn.

Logan Stendera picked his goal the first year based on what prizes he could get, his father Matt Stendera said.

“He picked a pretty high goal,” Matt Stendera said. “I didn’t want to discourage him from having a big goal so we broke it down and did it one day at a time.”

Logan Stendera is a tenacious kid. If the person doesn’t like popcorn, they also sell pretzels. If they don’t have cash he says that they take debit and credit cards as well.

He’ll also ask if customers prefer sweet or savory to determine what flavor they’ll like best — his preferences are salted caramel, chocolate caramel crunch and white chocolate pretzels.

“Logan just wasn’t afraid to walk up to people and ask them, which made a big difference,” Stendera’s mother Lizz Carlson said. “He talked to everybody.”

Logan Stendera sold the popcorn outside of Viking Liquor Barrel on Friday nights and Lowe’s on Sunday mornings as well as calling family members and going door-to-door with his parents.

Logan Stendera said he likes selling the popcorn and pretzels “because it’s fun and it’s kind of entertaining.”

There are also extra benefits to the fundraiser — for every year he’s been in the scouts, a new Star Wars movie has come out. Logan Stendera is a huge Star Wars fan (his favorite characters are Luke Skywalker (who he dressed as for Halloween), Yoda, R2D2 and C3PO).

“I like Darth Vader when he’s Darth Vader but not when he’s really Anakin Skywalker,” Logan Stendera said.

The kids can also receive gift cards as prizes for selling a certain amount. Some of the cards Logan Stendera’s parents purchase so he can put that money into savings as well as keeping some for spending.

“I’m going to buy cool shirts that can fit me — no, ones that don’t,” he said. “Ones that are a bigger size because my mom, my dad and my step-dad and I all think, and I do, that I grow really fast. I need bigger shirts.”

The money Logan Stendera raised goes toward funding the troop’s activities including outings, camping trips and more, but he also raised money for Hometown Heroes, an organization supporting military members, first responders, medical personnel and more.

The fundraiser is also a chance for Logan Stendera to use important skills when dealing with people, like eye contact and using a “big voice.”

“He’s gotten really good at overcoming objections,” Matt Stendera said. “He got really good at being able to show people stuff at the table while talking to them.”

Next year, Logan Stendera will probably choose a bigger goal but until then, he’s got something to look forward to — Star Wars: The Last Jedi is released in theaters on Dec. 15.