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Melissa
Geppi-Bowersox
Executive VP
Geppi's
Entertainment Museum
BALTIMORE – Melissa Geppi Bowersox has
been appointed executive vice president at Geppi’s Entertainment
Museum at Camden Yards (a k a “GEM”). Previously, Bowersox served as
director of Events & Special Promotions for the 17,000-square-foot
pop culture mecca, providing critical expertise during the museum’s
pre-launch and first year of operation.
In her new role, Bowersox will lead a team of experienced
professionals in developing new programs and special events while at
the same time overseeing both permanent and changing exhibits.
Bowersox said an important goal is spreading the word to civic
groups, schools and the travel and tourism industry that Baltimore
has added yet another world-class museum to its atmospheric
landscape – one that appeals to all ages.
“We have the location, the exhibits and the support of the
community,” Bowersox said. “My goal is to raise GEM’s profile so it
is recognized not only locally, but also on a national and
international level as an outstanding destination for families,
students and tour groups.”
Bowersox has had a lifelong passion for pop culture and her native
Baltimore. The daughter of GEM’s founder and CEO, Stephen A. Geppi,
she began working in the “family business” at age six. “In the early
days, my dad had a comic book shop in the basement of a TV repair
shop in one of the city’s suburbs,” Bowersox said. “I would go in on
weekends, sweep up or count comic book bags, which used to sell for
100 for a dollar – someone had to count the bags. Even as I got
older, I continued to work at his retail shops, eventually being
‘promoted’ to working behind the counter, handling subscription
orders and assisting the customers.”
As her father’s commercial ventures grew and prospered, Bowersox was
always there to pitch in and do her part, whether it was working
summers in the back of the warehouse, collating orders for Geppi’s
Diamond Comics, or later working as a receptionist for another Geppi
firm, Diamond International Galleries.
Bowersox is particularly proud that she represents the first of the
Geppi children to join her father’s businesses in an executive
capacity. “I know that it was always my dad’s fondest wish that one
of his children would want to be involved in his businesses, but he
would not have thrust it upon anybody,” Bowersox said. “He wanted us
to come to him and let him know if we were interested.” Bowersox
recalled that the right moment came in February when she represented
the Geppi companies at a major comic book industry event, the New
York Comic-Con. “I saw all the people I recognized from my youth
when I was working for my dad. I saw the excitement in their faces
when they realized that a younger Geppi was involved now, and I
realized the timing was perfect. I invited my dad to lunch and told
him what I wanted to do, and he said, ‘This is what I’ve been
waiting to hear. You’ve just made my day.’” remarked, “We are very
pleased to have Melissa taking on these new duties at GEM. We look
forward to her continued enthusiastic efforts to get the word out
about the museum, its facilities, and what we have to offer.”
GEM’s president, John K. Snyder Jr., praised the patient, lifelong
course Bowersox has followed en route to her new position with the
museum. “Melissa has spent years studying the whole foundation of
collecting, interacting with the people who collect and learning how
the element of emotion fits into the hobby,” Snyder said. “She’s an
idea person, very much like her father. She has taken the knowledge
she acquired during the time she spent working in the gallery and
watching how her father does things, and is now eminently capable of
moving into this high-level position. She spent her time in the
arena of learning – it was a baptism of fire, so to speak. Now she’s
getting her chance and bringing in a fresh approach that we all
wholeheartedly welcome.” |
