HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2010-11-18, Page 8PAGE 14. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2010.
Euchre held in Ethel
Blyth business celebrates centennial milestone
It’s not every day a business
celebrates 100 years, but that day
was Saturday for Elliott Nixon
Insurance Brokers Inc. in Blyth.
The business celebrated its 100th
year in business at Memorial Hall
with a meet and greet, cake, snacks
and a performance by the Blyth
United Church Choir on a night
when the celebration could be co-
ordinated with the Blyth Business
Association’s annual Lighting of the
Lights.
So much has changed, while at the
same time, the tenets and principles
of the business have remained the
same, say those who are now
involved in running the business.
Randy Nixon and Rick Elliott, who
took over from their fathers when
Elliott Insurance Brokers Ltd. and
Nixon Insurance Inc. amalgamated
in 2001, say that technology is
something that has constantly kept
them on their toes over the last nine
years, but that at its core, their
business is still about relationships.
“It’s all about relationships within
the community,” Rick Elliott says.
“We still strive to create strong
community relationships. Taking
each situation and serving [the
customer] has been key over the
years,” he said.
Elliott’s father, John, says that the
scope of the insurance business has
broadened so much over the years.
However, he says, that’s where he
feels the company has excelled.
He says staff members will deal
with many different situations on
any given day, providing advice
based on a broad scope of the job
they do. He says employees factor in
the experience they have gained over
the years and show the same respect
to clients who have trusted the firm
with their most prized possessions
for decades now.
“Basically, we’re a trusted
resource,” he says.
Nixon says that in the years that he
has been with the Elliotts, the issue
that has been at the forefront has
been technology. He says everyone
in the office is constantly learning
and having to stay ahead of the curve
in terms of technology.
He says there is a lot of
information in the world now and
that not all of it is necessarily
accurate, so that despite the rise of
technology, the personal touch of
their business is now more important
than ever.
John says that while technology
may have changed the business over
the years, the personal service and
relationship aspects of the business
really haven’t changed much at all
since his grandfather John Henry
Rutherford (J.H.R.) Elliott was
travelling from door to door selling
insurance in the Blyth area.
When J.H.R. first moved to Blyth
from Thessalon in 1910, he
purchased The Blyth Standard
newspaper, a book and stationary
store and two small insurance
agencies and thus began a family
business that has passed hands from
father to son for five generations
now.
First it was William Alexander
Elliott, J.H.R.’s first son who began
working with his father before heserved in the Second World War. Itwas in 1936 that Gordon Elliott,
J.H.R.’s third son, began working at
the company. He was 21 and he
worked in the insurance office until
he retired in 1980.
John Elliott, Gordon’s son, began
working with the firm in 1956. He
was licensed to work there part time
and became fully licensed in 1961.
It was at this point that John and
his father Gordon operated the
business together as a partnership,
eventually incorporating the
business into Elliott Insurance
Brokers Ltd. in 1978.
John said that he had wanted to
work for the family business since
he was in Grade 9 and continue the
tradition of his father and
grandfather. He said that working
with his father was meaningful to
him and that it made perfect sense to
him at the time.
In 1980, it was time to pass from
father to son once again, when
John’s first son Rick began working
for the firm part time, becoming
fully licensed in 1983.
Shortly after Rick came on board
in a full-time capacity, the business
underwent what John still considers
its biggest change to date, the
computerization of its office
processes.
In 1988 the majority of the
business became computerized and
the office’s single phone line became
five lines.
In the coming years, there would
also be several strategic business
decisions to come, including the
alliance built with Sholdice
Insurance Ltd., Lyons and Mulhern
Insurance Brokers and Seaforth
Insurance Brokers, which became
Huron Insurance Managers Group in
1998. Then in 2001, Elliott
Insurance Brokers Ltd. amalgamated
with Nixon Insurance Inc.
It was at that time that John Nixon
and John Elliott passed the running
of the newly-amalgamated company
onto their respective sons, Randy
and Rick.
The succession process is now
underway once more, as of 2007,
Rick’s son Jeffrey began working for
the firm, becoming the fifth
generation of the family to work for
the business. John says he is proud
of this continuation and that Jeffrey
will be an integral part of the
business in going into its next 100
years.
When asked about what having an
office in Blyth means to the
business, John Elliott said that the
village of Blyth has always been
very good to his family and the
business. His family has invested in
the community for generations and
he thinks that the location of the
company has a lot to do with the
service the Elliotts and the Nixons
provide.
Further to that, after a successful
anniversary celebration over the
weekend, Rick and Randy, on behalf
of Elliott Nixon Insurance have
purchased and installed a new sound
system for Blyth’s main street to
replace the older system, which no
longer worked.
John said that there are still people
in the community who remember
doing business with his grandfather
J.H.R. and are still customers todayand that connection is important tohim.Seeing that family connection, hesaid, is important to him andeveryone at the firm, a firm that has seen the business passed downthrough five generations now overthe course of a century.
The Ethel euchre party was held
on Monday, Nov. 1. This was the
last euchre for 2010.
Winners were: high, Myrna
Burnett and Keith Turnbull; low,
Shirley Verstoep and Rex Whaley;
lone hands, Viola Adams, Neil Hatt
and John Subject; share the wealth,
Florence Holmes and Helen Cullen.
There will be no euchre this
winter.
Thanks to everyone who provided
support this past season of euchre
parties.
Big day
It was an important day for the staff of Elliott Nixon Insurance, as they celebrated 100 years
of business. They celebrated with an open house at Memorial Hall, immediately preceding the
Blyth Business Association’s Lighting of the Lights. Back row, from left: John Elliott, Rick Elliott,
Jeffrey Elliott, Anne Elliott, Bryan Allen. Front row, from left: Amanda Dorsch, Janice Marks,
Amanda Rutledge, Aimee Townsend, Ruth-Ann Kirkby, Jackie Lantinga and Barb Snell. (Jim
Brown photo)
By Shawn LoughlinThe Citizen
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