After more than three decades steering local estate sales in Creemore, auctioneer John Simpson (pictured on home page) is leaving the business to a new crew.
This Saturday will mark the first sale for Phoenix Auctions and Appraisals, run by Ted Myers, Steve Mattice and Wanda Pilkey, all of whom worked for Simpson’s company.
But Simpson,who describes himself as “not totally retired,” will also be there, mentoring the three as the new company gets its feet wet.
“We’ll have the same kind of auction,” said Myers, who will be taking turns auctioning off items with Simpson on Saturday. “Antiques, estate, firearms and military. We will have one auction a month year-round and firearms quarterly.”
“Although our office is located in Collingwood, we are still loyal to Creemore,” added Pilkey. “We will still hold the auctions out of the Creemore Legion; nothing is going to change.”
Simpson started his company, Simpson Sporting Auctions and Appraisal Services, in 1978 with a sale in Avening (or so he believes; he admits that with so many years of auctioneering under his belt, he has “lost track” of the dates).
After all these years working seven days a week, Simpson feels the time is ripe for retirement. He plans to spend a lot of time outdoors in B.C. and on a remote island in Temagami.
“I love the business, but there comes a time when you want to take more time off,” he explained. “I would like to thank my customers for their loyalty, business and friendship.”