D'Courtland Christian / The Meridian StarKen Kercheval, Scout Executive for The Choctaw Area Council of the Boy Scouts.

The Choctaw Area Council of the Boy Scouts’ annual popcorn sale is underway at their new location in downtown Meridian at 2102 8th Street, near Harvest Grill.

“We’re already enjoying our new location,” said Ken Kercheval, scout executive. “We believe it will be even more convenient for residents and members of the business community to connect with us to get involved in or to support scouting.”

Kercheval said the fundraiser is vital to the scouting program because it supports local  units in east Mississippi and teaches scouts to set a goal, develop their selling techniques, and learn to interact with people.

The Council is partnering with CampMasters Gourmet Popcorn to provide a variety of  popcorn tins, which have proven to be a big hit including such flavors as supreme caramel, chocolate drizzle, and their 3-Way cheesy tin, which includes White and Yellow Cheddar Cheese along with their Cheesy Salsa Popcorn.

The funds are used to help area scouts pay for scouting uniforms, attend camp and purchase the equipment.

“We’d love to break $100,000 with our popcorn sales this year,” Kercheval said. “We’ve come very close to meeting that goal in recent years, but challenges of COVID obviously prevented us from making door-to-door sales during the past couple of years, but we’re excited to be back in full force this year.”

 In addition to their door-to-door sales, local scouts will be setting up at various locations around town for show and sell events, and orders will be taken through the end of October.

Online ordering is also an option by visiting popcornordering.com and choosing Choctaw Area Council as the council you would like to support.

“When our Scouts ask you to buy their popcorn, we want everybody to know that there’s a lot more to it than just enjoying great popcorn,” Kercheval said. “Your popcorn purchase is a vote of confidence for local scouts who are training to become our leaders of tomorrow.”

Kercheval also noted that Citizens National Bank’s support of the popcorn sale has been a huge asset to the council’s fundraising success over the years.

 “We are truly grateful for our partnership with Citizens National Bank over the years to help us get the word out,” Kercheval added.