Miles Mazer’s favorite subject is math.
And that’s a good thing because the 11-year-old was doing a lot of adding prices and multiplying sales during the recent Georgia-Carolina Boy Scout Council’s annual popcorn sale. Miles sold $10,483 in only three weeks.
“It’s really fun to sell popcorn,” said Miles, a sixth-grade homeschooler from Norwood, Georgia. “It’s fun to talk to people.”
But it wasn’t always fun for him. When he first started, he’d hide behind his mom, Lauren Williams, instead of talking to people.
“I was really shy when I first started,” he said. “I guess I just didn’t want to talk to customers. I’m a little more used to it and can talk to people more comfortably.”
He was about six when he first started selling popcorn as a Tiger scout. He said he’s not really sure what changed, but he did take a few years off from selling and came back last year with more confidence.
“Miles’ story is truly inspiring,” said Dan Rogers, Scout Executive of the Georgia-Carolina Council, In a news release. “His growth and achievements highlight the power of Scouting to help young people build confidence, develop valuable skills and make meaningful contributions to their communities.”
In an age of online retail, Miles said his best efforts were through storefront sales, talking to people face-to-face. He averaged about $3,000 over two weekends at Fort Eisenhower.
For his efforts, Miles received several incentives such as Amazon e-gift cards and an Invite to an event at Top Golf.
Miles said he enjoys scouting because of the opportunities to participate in outdoor activities such as camping, paddleboarding and boating.
In addition to Boy Scouts, Miles takes karate and enjoys solving the Rubik’s Cube.
He hopes to attend MIT one day and study computer science or another science. And he’ll put those math skills to even further use.
“If you can do math, you can do science,” he said.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for 35 years. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
