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Steven geppi: Hard Work Gets Noticed Jack McLaughlin
Geppi, born and raised in Baltimore’s Little Italy, had to leave high school to support his mother after his parents divorced. When he was 19 he went to work for the U.S. Postal Service. During a trip to the beach he noticed a nephew reading a comic book. Thinking that he would like to find some of the comics he enjoyed as youngster, he began asking friends and people on his mail route if they had any old comic books. After a while he started going to weekend conventions to sell duplicates and comics he didn’t want. His schedule as a mailman conflicted with the weekend conventions so he took a bold step and opened a store in the basement of a TV repair shop. “It was at six twelve and half, a half mind you, Edmonson Avenue,” he said. The business met with some success. Stephen A. Geppi is now President/CEO of Diamond Comic Distributors. Diamond is the largest distributor of English language comics in the world, handling, among others, DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Geppi, who had dreams of playing professional baseball as a kid, is also part owner of the Baltimore Orioles. “I’m a very fortunate fella. I do comic books and baseball for a living. That’s pretty cool,” said Geppi. He also has opened the Geppi Entertainment Museum at 301 W. Camden Street in Baltimore. Describing it as a “timeline of the history of the country’s pop culture,” Geppi said the museum, which features characters from newspaper, magazines, movies, radio and TV, has appeal to at least three generations. “As people walk through the rooms, I hear them say, ‘I remember that, I had one of those’,” said Geppi. He said he did not seek non-profit status for the museum, preferring to have it a for-profit venture. Geppi said his philosophy is that any competitor in any field is someone who can “hurt you the most or help you the most.” Geppi said if he sends staff to a trade show, they promote not only his museum, but other attractions in Baltimore as well as restaurants, stores and the city itself. Competitors should be able to find some common ground for mutual benefit, he said. “Right now in our country we need each other on a lot of levels,” Geppi said. The country will come out of the recession sooner than later, Geppi said, though he admitted he had nothing to base that conclusion on other than the fact that he is “an eternal optimist.” When Americans are challenged the most, that’s when they step up the quickest,” he observed. He conceded he sometimes worries about the future. Paraphrasing a quote by humorist Will Rogers, Geppi said, “I’m not so much concerned about the return on my investment as I am the return of my investment. ” With all his accomplishments, Geppi related some thing that happened to him that was one high points in his life. The day before he spoke to the Chamber, he attended a ceremony at York College, where his daughter is a student and he is on the board of trustees. “Yesterday I got to wear a cap and gown,” he said.
Photo caption: Steve Geppi runs a comic book distribution company, an entertainment museum and owns an interest in the Baltimore Orioles.
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Steve Geppi believes that working hard gets you noticed. “If people work hard for themselves, not just the boss, someone will notice. And it’s not necessarily their employers,” noted Geppi, guest speaker at the Harford County Chamber of Commerce’s monthly luncheon meeting Dec. 18 at The Bayou Restaurant in Havre de Grace.