Welcome back to our ongoing series, “The Faces Behind COMC”. In this series, we showcase the personalities of the members of our team responsible for making sure we offer our customer’s the best experience possible when using COMC. This time around, we’re taking our readers up North to get a glimpse inside our Canadian Processing Facility. We opened our Canadian location in January 2013 in an effort to create a more streamlined COMC experience for our Canadian Customers.

Derek (OTCards on COMC)

An avid collector and former sports card shop owner, Derek was a familiar face to our Canadian Team long before officially joining COMC. Derek joined our Processing Team in late 2016, but the majority of the Canadian COMC Team had already been regular customers at his shop many years prior. Joining the COMC Team seemed like a natural transition for the Vancouver born native.

In his spare time away from COMC, he enjoys watching movies and participating in trivia nights at local bars and establishments. Derek also routinely competes in reality TV fantasy leagues with his friends. That all being said, he stays plenty busy buying and selling cards both locally as well as online. He collects mostly non-sports cards such as entertainment autographs, but also enjoys picking up key sports rookie cards when he can.

Favorite sport:  Any and all.
Favorite player:  LeBron James
Favorite Food:  Pizza, sushi
Favorite Musical Artist(s):  Creedence Clearwater Revival, Rush, Eminem
Favorite Movie / TV Show /etc: Game of Thrones, Top Chef, The Rock
Favorite card in your collection: Ryan Reynolds X-Men Origins Deadpool Auto

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“Vicious” Verne Siebert (Turnbuckle99 on COMC)

Verne joined our Canadian Processing Team about two years and has one of the most colorful backstories of any COMC employee. Verne is a former professional wrestler who is still active in the independent scene as a Manager and Agent for All Star Wrestling Inc. In 1991, Verne even had two televised matches for WWF (now WWE) where he competed against the likes of Sgt. Slaughter and The Texas Tornado. A simple google search will reveal pictures, highlights and even youtube videos of some of his matches over the years if you want to learn more!

Born in Victoria, British Columbia, he has resided across Canada. Away from COMC and the squared circle, Verne enjoys staying in shape by working out and doing yoga as well as taking care of his 16-year old Dachshund named Jasper. He collects comic books and wrestling memorabilia as well as hockey cards. He promotes a collectibles show as well.

A true story adding to the legend of Verne, he broke a chair on his first day of work at COMC and autographed the broken leg for our CEO Tim Getsch.

Favorite sport(s):  Hockey, Pro Wrestling
Favorite player(s):  Ed Belfour, Gerry Cheevers. Pavel Bure, and Bo Horvat.
Favorite Food:  Pizza
Favorite Musical Artist(s):  Pink, Guns N Roses.
Favorite Movie / TV Show /etc:  Two Broke Girls, Trading Places
Favorite card in your collection:  Don Cherry Suit Card.

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Joel (JayMack on COMC)

Having lived his whole live in Vancouver, B.C., Joel joined our Canadian Processing Team in the Fall of 2016.  Joel is a loving husband, a Father of three, and a Grandfather to eight who is enjoying his retirement.  He stays plenty active in the hobby however, and prefers to collect new and vintage baseball and hockey cards.

Favorite sport(s): Baseball, then Hockey
Favorite player(s): Mickey Mantle as a kid, Roger Clemens thru the 80’s and 90’s. Now Aaron Judge.
Favorite Food: Thai food. Could eat it every night!
Favorite Musical Artist(s): Willie Nelson, The Beatles, Bruno Mars
Favorite Movie / TV Show /etc: The Longest Day. I know, a war movie, but loaded with stars.
Favorite card in your collection: 1990-91 Pro-Set Stanley Cup Hologram

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Eddie (Stammer on COMC)

Eddie joined our team in early 2017 as the first Canadian employee hired primarily to work on identification and cataloging. He collects primarily hockey cards, although he does confess that a bit more basketball cards have found their way to his collection as of late. The Vancouver-area native has spent his whole life in the area, and stays active through playing sports such as football and basketball.

Eddie isn’t shy about his skills on the court, and opted to use this blog as a platform to issue a formal one-on-one challenge to Tim Getsch. He would love to step on the court with our CEO, but only on the stipulation that Tim cannot post-up during the contest!

Favorite sport(s): Hockey, basketball, football
Favorite player(s): Steven Stamkos, Patrik Laine, Steph Curry
Favorite Food: French Fries
Favorite Musical Artist: Drake
Favorite Movie / TV Show /etc: Hockey & Basketball Games.
Favorite card in your collection: 2015-16 Upper Deck Portfolio Profiles Materials Sixes Sidney Crosby #1/1

 

Peter (FastFeet65 on COMC)

Peter is the most recent addition to our Canadian Team, having joined to help with order fulfillment just a few months ago. He is the most well-traveled our Canadian Team, having lived in Mexico and the United Kingdom.  He confesses that he does not collect cards as extensively as he previously did in his youth, but he does like to buy cards of young players with lots of potential as well as older hockey and baseball cards that remind him of his youth. He also maintains a collection of old game programs and world currencies no longer in circulation.

Peter shared with us that ins his past he helped run youth camps for many years, primarily in the summer time. He was often involved in helping with organizing sports schedules and led evening music and singing events. He spent four months volunteering in an orphanage in Mexico when he was 20 years old and says that to this day it was one of the most impactful and greatest things he has done in life.

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Barry (CPA-CMA) – Manager, COMC Canada

Barry has the distinct honor of being our first Canadian employee as Operations Manager of our Canadian location. After working in the banking industry for 23 years, he became a Chartered Professional Accountant, and now oversees the operation of our Canadian Facility – no small task by any means. He was born in Edmonton (the same home town as Zarley Zalapski) and has also lived in the same hometown as Rene Bourque (we’ll let you Google that one!). He collects cards of Red Wings players as well as other cards that catch his eye.

Away from COMC, he can be found enjoying Ted Talks and science documentaries on Youtube. From a professional development course, he is currently challenging himself to give a deserving compliment to someone at every day at home, office, or outside.

Favorite sport(s): Volleyball, Cycling (in particular, the Tour de France)
Favorite player: Danny Grant
Favorite Food:  BBQ Ribs
Favorite Musical Artist(s):  Hall & Oates and other 80’s music artists.
Favorite Movie / TV Show /etc: The Shawshank Redemption, The Amazing Race, Star Trek TNG
Favorite card in your collection:  1990-91 ProSet Stanley Cup Hologram PSA 8.5