Terry Melia Joins Leaf Trading Cards

Leaf Trading Cards has announced the addition of longtime hobby marketing veteran Terry Melia to its internal ranks. Melia, the former public relations manager at Upper Deck, will now serve as Leaf’s Public relations, marketing and social media manager.

“I could not be more excited to add Terry Melia to the Leaf team,” said Brian Gray, president of Leaf Trading Cards. “With a renewed focus on communication with our customers, consumers and the media at large, this addition is clearly a huge win for Leaf and its dealers.”

Melia, an avid autograph collector, possesses more than 23 years of experience in the trading card and memorabilia industry. Prior to landing at Upper Deck in 1998, he helped launch Beverly Hills-based Trading Cards Magazine in 1991 and served as its editor for five years. He also kicked off a sister publication called The Encyclopedia of Sports Memorabilia and Price Guide. From 1995-97, Melia lived in Seattle and worked double duty at Wizards of the Coast (WOTC). Initially brought in to launch The Duelist Sideboard, a bi-monthly magazine covering WOTC’s Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour circuit, he was quickly promoted to managing editor of The Duelist, the company’s game-play strategy magazine.

Melia’s nearly 14-year tenure at Upper Deck started in the public relations department as the company’s hobby media manager and came full circle when he was named PR manager in late 2007. In between, he served vital roles in content acquisitions, e-commerce and web content management.

“I’m extremely excited to be back in the industry and working for Brian Gray and Leaf Trading Cards,” said Melia. “By combining Brian’s creative innovations with my media pitching prowess, I’m confident Leaf will be making a bigger impact on the hobby as well as mainstream America in short order.”