Goodbye

I’m sure this will shock most of you but before I came to work here at Press Pass I didn’t even know that NASCAR Trading Cards existed. I know, I know, for most of you that doesn’t make sense because you’re so passionate about NASCAR Trading Cards. Even though I lived in Charlotte, which to some is the center of the NASCAR world, I was blind to almost all things NASCAR and that included NASCAR trading cards.

I never collected trading cards myself and I didn’t know much about the trading card industry in general. I quickly learned that my husband, my father, my brother in-law and pretty much all the men in my family had their share of old shoe boxes and notebooks filled with trading cards that they collected during their youth; which I thought was pretty cool. They each had their favorite card and stories about how they got it. Listening to them talk made me realize that working for a trading card company was going to be pretty cool.

I had originally thought that the trading card industry had gone the way of eight-track tapes and pet rocks. It wasn’t until I started researching Press Pass and trading cards that I realized how alive and active the trading card industry is today. I didn’t know about all the blogs, forums and v chat sites that were solely dedicated to trading cards. It was quite an eye-opening experience and helped get me really excited for my new job.

On my first day at Press Pass I was given a box of 2008 Speedway to open. I will be honest, it was the first time I’d ever busted wax before...and it was great. I loved the rush and the excitement of not knowing what I was going to pull. I marveled at the amazing design and how the cards seemed to grab your eye. I was jumping for joy (on the inside of course) when I pulled an autograph; a Greg Zipadelli autograph which I still have at my desk and I will take with me on my future endeavors. Again I will state I didn’t know anything about NASCAR, but just the fact that I pulled an autograph I thought that was awesome. When I was done opening the box I realized how lucky I was because I had been given a new experience. It was that joy and excitement that I tried to think of every time I talked to a collector. For the last two years I talked to a lot of collectors and have truly enjoyed getting to know them and help them with their collections.

There are a lot of things that I have gained from working at Press Pass, but one of biggest things that I’ve gained is a love trading cards.

Thank you Press Pass and the Press Pass collecting community for everything over the past two years, I will miss you!

Allison Ranson