By Mary Pannabecker Steiner

One of the more prominent items in Mark Bourassa's office is a framed poster announcing the 1986 Olympics in Amsterdam. If you're an Olympics historian, you might remember that Amsterdam lost the bid for those games to Barcelona, making the "bid poster" something of a collectible.

Bourassa, director of Marbeck Center at Bluffton University, bought the poster on a class trip to Amsterdam as part of his junior year abroad in Belgium. The poster is merely a suggestion of Bourassa's interest in the Olympics. But take a look inside the "pin briefcases" that house his collection of Olympic pins and you'll realize where his real interest lies.

The collection includes pins, badges and buttons of all types, representing many different games. Bourassa has organized them chronologically and happily explains the history behind many of them. During the current Vancouver games - as he usually does when the Olympics are in session -- Bourassa wore a different pin each day.

Bourassa agreed to share the collection and some of the information he's learned throughout his 30 years of collecting.

When did you begin collecting Olympic pins?

I began collecting Olympic pins around 1980 with the winter games in Lake Placid, although I started getting more intentional about collecting pins with the 1984 summer games in Los Angeles.

What prompted you to begin doing so?

My interest in the Olympics was the initial motivation, probably sparked by our family visit to Lake Placid the year or two before the games. My Grandfather also worked for the State of New York and had Fire Prevention responsibilities during the games. I have very vivid memories of these games, particularly the "miracle on ice" hockey game. As I have had the opportunity to travel to cities that have hosted the games, I have usually tried to include visits to Olympic sites and museums. You can usually find pins at these places.

What was the first one in your collection?

I'm not really sure which is my first, but I'm pretty sure it's one of my Lake Placid Pins.

How many do you have now?

Around 660

Do you have at least one or multiple ones for each Olympic "season" since you began collecting them?

I do have multiple pins from each Olympics since 1980. I also have pins from earlier Olympics, but I suspect that some of them are reproductions, not originals.

Explain what you know about the history of Olympic pins...how they came to be...what was the first year? How/where are they made? Is there one for each sport/event?

I'm certainly no expert, but pins/badges/buttons have been a part of every one of the modern Olympic games, beginning with Athens in 1896. In the first Olympics, participants & officials had badges that signified their participation. Eventually individual country's National Olympic Committees (NOC) began producing pins for their athletes. This became very routine and athletes began trading them with each other. Even today, NOCs often provide athletes with a bag of NOC pins to trade. NOC pins are often highly sought after as they usually are not sold to the general public. I recall reading somewhere that the first Olympic pin made as a souvenir for the public was for the 1912 games in Stockholm. It was of the stick pin variety. Pins became more popular after the 1980 games as pin trading moved from just being between athletes to the general public. Also more varieties of pins were manufactured. Also, corporate sponsorships led to corporate pins being produced. Coca Cola has been the biggest player in the corporate pin game (and not just for the Olympics). In the 1988 at Calgary they set up the first pin trading center during the games. These centers have been a fixture at every game since. Pin trading certainly has lead to the increase in the amount and variety of pins that are offered. There are literally hundreds of designs now produced for each of the games.

How/where do you get them?

Over the years, I have acquired my pins from a variety of sources. I received them from family and friends. I participated in corporate promotions (i.e. Send in four proof of purchase for your free Olympic pin!). I have made purchases at Olympic museums and stores. For quite a few years, I purchased pins from a retired faculty member in Arizona who had a pin collecting newsletter. It's now pretty easy to find pins online. There are a number of reputable pin sites as well as individual collectors who are willing to trade or sell pins. At the 1996 games in Atlanta, I also acquired pins through trading.

Do you ever wear them and if so, what is the "proper" way to wear one?

I usually wear a pin each day during the games. I just wear them on my shirt, but people have all kinds of different ways of wearing them (hats, scarves, etc.).

Do you only get them out when the Olympics are in "session" or do you have them on display somewhere?

I tend to get pins sporadically throughout the year, although I'm certainly more active in my looking during the games. I usually get out my pins whenever I acquire a new pin.

How do you organize and store them?

I have several "pin briefcases" that I use for storing my pins. They allow for easy viewing and protection of the pins.

Do you have a favorite and if so, what about it do you find special?

I don't have a single favorite, but there are quite a few that are special to me.

What's your favorite Olympic sport?

I have always enjoyed the winter games and so I'd have to say that the winter sports would be my favorite. I don't have one "can't miss" sport, but I have really enjoyed watching snowboard cross.

Do you watch as much as possible during the few weeks they are televised?

I don't watch a lot of television, but during the games the TV is almost always on.

Have you ever been to the Olympics? If so, when and share some of what it's like to be there in person.

I have been to the Atlanta Olympics where I got to attend a baseball game, soccer game and track and field events. One of my favorite moments was sitting outside The Varsity (a very popular drive-in in downtown Atlanta) near the Olympic Village and trading pins with a few of the athletes. We also got to see a pole vaulter that my brother-in-law coached (Lawrence Johnson - who took 8th in Atlanta, but went on to win a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia)

Have you met any Olympic athletes? Any interesting stories about a favorite athlete?

My sister-in-law, Missy Kane, participated in the 1984 Olympic games in Los Angeles. She was a middle distance runner and competed in the 1500 meters. I have also met Tim Mack, the Olympic gold medalist in the pole vault at the Athens games in 2004. My brother-in-law coached Tim.