MVP Monday: Bill Attea

And just like that, MVP Monday is back! We hope that everyone is enjoying a safe and healthy winter season! Every Monday we highlight an employee who has been turning heads with their work here at Dave and Adam’s! With the value of trading cards continuing to skyrocket, it is ultra important that we package these products with the utmost care and safety for our loyal customers. That’s where our MVP comes in! Meet Bill Attea, a fulfillment specialist here at Dave and Adam’s! As always, we sit down to talk and learn more about our MVP!

– Do you have a new year’s resolution? Do you think you’ll succeed?

I don’t have any New Year’s resolutions. I don’t put much thought into doing any as I believe if I’d like to try to do something new, a change of date isn’t going to give me the drive to do it.

We appreciate the honesty, Bill! About 80% of people admit to abandoning their resolution by February each year, so you might be onto something.

– What are your interests outside of work? 

I love a lot of pop culture movies, Tv shows, and games. I am a huge Star Wars and superhero fan. I make sure to see any new movie opening night and any new episode when it first drops. It’s not uncommon to find me discussing topics like why Iron man was right in Civil War or how Mace Windu survived his last confrontation with Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith.

Don’t pretend that these are regular discussions when they are in fact heated debates.

– Do you have any pets? 

I have 3 dogs. Luna is a 6 year old Rottweiler, Roxy a 12 year old Beagle, and Duke a 1 year old Lab mix.

What a beautiful trio! 

– What are your favorite sports teams and why?

I’m a big Bills, Sabres, and Yankees fan. I also root for whatever team Lebron James is on. I’ve been a Bills season ticket holder since 2012 and have regularly attended Sabres games my whole life. I usually sit right behind the Sabres bench with my Uncle Fred who had become a meme a time or two with Sabres fans because of his long white beard and resemblance to Santa (who actually is his brother, but not as many people have seen his movie ‘Fred Claus’).  My favorite players I grew up with are Peyton Manning, LeBron James, Sidney Crosby, and Derek Jeter. I loved watching them all play as I considered them the most exciting, and really had a flair for the dramatic. I will argue with anyone ’til I’m blue in the face that Lebron and Peyton are the best to ever play their sport. I try to collect their autographs when I can but have yet to get my hands on Lebron’s signature. Would definitely love amending that one day.

All biases aside, the writer/editor of this blog post completely agrees with your opinions on Peyton and LeBron. It’s hard to debate against greatness, but as you know, people certainly try! Also, what are you doing with your life if you haven’t seen ‘Fred Claus’? Bill’s uncle absolutely kills this role!

– Are you a former/current athlete? What sports did you play? What was your favorite?

I used to love playing football when I was younger. I started in middle school and went all throughout high school playing for the Sweet Home Panthers. I take pride in what my teammates and I accomplished, winning a couple of section titles and falling just short in the state title game. We even got to play a couple games in the Bills home stadium! Too many great memories to list them all here.

As someone who played on a 2-6 team my senior year, I am very jealous of your accomplishments from your football career! Bill was nice enough to skip the NFL draft and take his talents to Dave and Adam’s!

– What’s your favorite product that we sell?

I really like the Hit parade big boxes, especially the entertainment ones. No telling what you can pull out of those.

I’d say a majority of our customers really love the big boxes as well; They’re selling like hot cakes! Check out this product here!

– Do you have any collections of your own?

I collect sports/pop culture signed memorabilia, sports cards, and tickets/programs from sporting events that I’ve attended. My collection is really starting to become quite expansive, as my room is covered and surrounded with signed baseballs, funkos, photos, cards, jerseys, figures and helmets. Seems like half the fun of buying a new item in the collection is finding out where to put it!

That does seem to be a common issue with collectors! I guess that’s the price you pay, but you’ve been wanting to build an addition to your house anyways, right?

– What’s an interesting fact about you?

A surprising fact about myself is that I can actually do a split. I stretch every morning at work and I love seeing people’s reactions when they see it for the first time!

Simply put, you ain’t living if you’ve never seen Bill do a split. It’s one of the most impressive party tricks to ever grace your eyes. 

-Tell me about your background with DA/HP? What attracted you to work for us?

I work as a Fulfillment specialist in the warehouse. I spend most of, if not all my time in shipping working to get customer’s orders out correctly, safely, and as fast as possible. I’ll usually be either checking the orders out or boxing them to be shipped out. It’s a team environment and everyone does their best to get the job done effectively.

I started working here November 1st, 2016. It is my first full time job. I used to deliver the Buffalo news when I was younger. I regularly frequented the retail store from when I was a kid, getting Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh cards to then getting memorabilia and Football/Hockey cards. I figured it would be awesome to be around that stuff all the time so I sent my application to HR and 5 years later I’m still here.

Bill and the entire fulfillment team work their buns off to get you your order in a safe and timely manner! And it’s always awesome when a customer becomes an employee; we’re excited to hear that you’re enjoying your time with us! 

-Is there a particular moment or time that sticks out about your experience here?

One time I was sitting in the break room and lifted my head to see a few members of the 2006/07 Sabres just walking through. One happened to be Danny Briere, one of my favorite Sabres of all time. Shocked would be an understatement. You never know who might be walking around the building.

Wow! What a memory, and at the peak of the Sabres nonetheless! The back to back conference championship series had to add to the amazement! Top shelf where mama hides the cookies! 😉

-What inspires you to be the best at your job?

Wanting to keep everyone happy inspires me to do my absolute best. Whether it be our customers, my co-workers, my managers, or even my family; If I can help make anyone’s day just a little bit better by the work that I do, I’ll try my best to do just that.

What a great attitude to have! Bill’s work ethic is paralleled by all of our employees; If our co-workers and customers are happy, then so are we!

-What has been your biggest challenge here, and what did you do to solve it on your own?

Working through the beginning of the pandemic was certainly a challenging time. The card boom hit and due to restrictions we had about half the people we normally would cranking out orders. Everyone putting their best foot forward really got us through then, which can be said for then or any busy time such as Black Friday weekend.

Your effort does not go unnoticed, Bill! We’re so proud of what you and the rest of your team have been able to accomplish, even through tough times. We wouldn’t be the same without you!

Thank you for once again tuning in to our MVP Monday spotlight! Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates on all things Dave and Adam’s!