Scout Patch Collectors

Sunday Scouting Hot Finds Newsletter June 02, 2019

As I go to publish this issue news has come out to confirm that indeed ISCA is taking ownership of one our most beloved websites in the hobby – OAimages.com. God I hope they don’t screw it up!

Let’s just say that ISCA has not had the Midas touch the last decade. From taking on websites that then no longer work to the debacle that was patch trading at the 2018 NOAC. So many people have quite the OA insignia project in disgust I think I have lost track. Now they want all of us to believe they are going to create a new OA catalog after years of suffering through broken promises and inept management?

Let me suggest that anyone interested in the topic of OA cataloging go back and listen to episode #86 of my podcast and hear about the project that John Athayde and others have been working on. Patchvault can be the collector built OA catalog without the mind numbing bureaucracy that ISCA curses every project with.

My criticism of ISCA comes from having been on the board and seeing how it operates. Nothing happens for 11 months out of the year and then in the weeks before the annual meeting a flurry of emails goes out. Thank goodness for Jim Ellis who has faithfully published the Journal for years and years. But I was there on the front end of this whole Blue Book acquisition and once you’ve gone 5+ years floundering around don’t expect everyone to have faith now that you have signed some agreements. OAimages.com does need to be modernized but I’m sorry that ISCA is in the driver seat because I’ve seen how Craig Leighty operates and I’m not impressed. He thinks he can deputize collectors to do hundreds of hours of service on these projects but he doesn’t have the charisma of a Bill Topkis to pull that off.

I see that ISCA has 4 positions open on the board. I suggest a group of collectors run as a block and do a little hostile takeover. Heck I’ll promote your ballot if you do it! ISCA needs a clean new slate of leadership before it can restore any confidence from the hobby.

CLICK HERE TO OPEN THE JUNE 02, 2019 ISSUE OF THE SCOUTING HOT FINDS NEWSLETTER