International Scouting Collectors Association

The International Scouting Collectors Association (ISCA) is a non-profit volunteer organization that promotes education regarding the history of the Scouting Movement through the collecting and trading of Scouting memorabilia.ISCA official website. [http://www.scouttrader.org Accessed 23 April 2006.] ]

History

In 1953, at the National Scout jamboree, the roots of the newsletter "The Trader" were laid down. The goals were to promote honest trading and education about Scouting memorablia. Mike Diamond was the first editor, followed by Forest Reynolds, Paul Meyers, Dave Leubitz, and Guy Hatfield amongst others. In 1978 "The Trader" was merged with "Scouting Collectors Quarterly". The "Scouting Collectors Quarterly" began with the Texan Traders Den, which published the "Traderoo Magazine". This publication gave way to the "Scouting Collectors Magazine", with the National Scouting Collectors Association [later to be named the National Scouting Collectors Society (NSCS)] as the sponsoring organization.

In the West, in 1969 the California Traders Association was founded, at the 12-D Conference. In 1970 it became the Region Twelve Traders Association. In 1972 the name was changed to the Western Traders Association. This name remained until a merger with the Southern California Association of Traders in 1984-5. SCAT was founded in 1973 as the Southern California Traders Association, the name was changed to SCAT in 1975 so it would be easier to remember. For one year in 1985 the organization was simply called WTA/SCAT. In 1985 WTA/SCAT changed its name, once again, to the American Scouting Traders Association (ASTA). ASTA has become nationally known for its articles aimed towards the collector in its journal, the "ASTA Star". ASTA has led in working with the National Order of the Arrow Conferences since 1990, establishing a presence at Founders Day and in coordinating and organizing the trading events at the conferences. The California Traders Association started as an eight-page mimeographed paper. By 1985 membership had grown to over 400 members when the ASTA name was taken. In 1994 ASTA reached the milestone mark of 1,000 members.

The ISCA was formed in 2001, when the American Scouting Traders Association (ASTA) and the National Scouting Collectors Society (NSCS) merged to better serve the collecting community; both of which were worldwide leading Scouting memorabilia organizations. The newsletters gave way to the professional quality "ISCA Journal" and a website. ISCA history. [http://www.scouttrader.org/memorabilia.shtml Accessed 23 April 2006.] ]

Today the merged organization boasts over 1,500 members, with issues being sent to all 50 states and over 11 Scouting countries worldwide. Most ISCA members are from the United States, but its international membership is growing. ISCA volunteer Scouters are experienced in collecting and trading Scouting memorabilia. The ISCA sponsors trading by mail, Internet, and Trade-O-rees, which are events collectors attend to trade, buy, sell, and learn more about Scouting memborabilia. The ISCA also sponsors educational events at seminars and events such as Order of the Arrow conclaves and conferences. The ISCA website has sections anyone can access and a "members only" section.

The ISCA Journal

A benefit of in ISCA membership is a subscription to The "ISCA Journal", ISCA's quarterly publication featuring ISCA functions, Trade-O-Ree information, history of Scouting memorabilia, news of new patches issued, reports on TOR's, Letters to the Editor and lots more.cite journal| last=| first=| coauthors=| title=ISCA Journal| journal=International Scouting Collectors Association| volume=6| issue=1| month=March| year=2006| pages=2–7]

Regular columns are:
*Chairman's and President's Message
*Trade-O-Ree Calendar
*ISCA News
*Looking For Red & Whites
*The Badge Collectors Corner
*Way Back When
*World Jamboree
*Scouting Trends
*Collectors Q&A
*The CSP Corner
*Camp Patches
*OA News
*ISCA Membership Application
*Advertisements

ISCA Journal issues

References