Fort Mill boy officially a Guinness World Record holder

Ten year old Elias Brooks has been awarded a Guinness World Record for the largest private collection of hotel key cards.

Representatives from Guinness came to York County to last fall to review the Fort Mill boy’s claim. At the time, he had 540 cards in his collection.

After submitting the evidence packet on Nov. 7, Brooks’ father Jeff said they were supposed to get a response within eight to 12 weeks.

“We got curious in mid-January, so we looked on their website and it had Elias listed as the world record holder for largest collection of hotel key cards,” Jeff said. “We were surprised because we had expected to get an email or some sort of formal notification.”

They contacted Guinness and after communicating with the organization several times, found out that the third party they use to send out the official certificates had been having some issues with their system.

“It wasn’t until June 10 that the certificate finally showed up and Elias was at camp,” said Jeff. “So we left it as a surprise until we picked him up on (June 13) and brought him home and showed it to him.”

According to Elias, he was “excited and happy” when he found out he got the record, while his parents Jeff and Nikki say they were very proud.

“It took a lot of patience for him to get to this place and we really pushed him to get organized,” Jeff said. “He had to learn how to create a spreadsheet and track his collection and staying that focused is hard for a 10 year-old.”

At the moment, the GWR certificate is in Michael’s craft store, where it is being framed along with the original Fort Mill Times article chronicling his attempt. The completed piece will be proudly displayed on the wall in Elias’ bedroom.

Even though Elias doesn’t know if someone will try to beat his record, he said he wants to be prepared and plans to continue collecting cards.

“He hasn’t stopped collecting,” said Jeff.

“His record now sits at 607 key cards and we have a few on the desk from a recent trip that we need to process so (soon), he’ll be over 610.”

Elias doesn’t currently have plans to attempt any other world records and wants to enjoy himself now that summer is setting in. Although his dad thinks that might change soon.

“I’m sure when we get the certificate back with the frame and it’s on the wall, it will inspire him to reach further.”

This story was originally published July 1, 2015 at 9:17 AM with the headline "Fort Mill boy officially a Guinness World Record holder."