Left to Right: Adam Gordon, Barry Gordon, Oona Huddle
The Gordon Family Connects with CARP
To understand the dedication that Barry and Adam Gordon have for supporting seniors and CARP’s mission, you need only to look at the family business that this father and son team run.
Gordon’s Downsizing & Estate Planning is a venerable Ontario institution that started in Kingston over 60 years ago. It’s a practical but emotionally accessible company now run by its third generation of leaders, Adam Gordon. While Adam is the President and now based in Toronto, he has a strong bond with his father, Barry, who is the CEO, and still maintains an important base in their original home in Kingston. The two have a deep and passionate commitment to their clients, who have to sort out the complex fallout when it becomes time to divest long-time property and possessions after downsizing or the death of a loved one that inevitably provokes change.
Barry and Adam are also keen members of CARP, dedicated to our organization’s causes. They have just relaunched our Chapter in Kingston. Says Barry, “There are approximately 3000 CARP members in the Kingston region. It’s an area that’s always been a little bit active politically. They should have a voice at the table and we’re trying to help get that together without dominating it.
“We had an initial meeting in June with a good attendance. There’s a nice vibrant Seniors Association in Kingston, which we can use for the meetings. There’s parking and people use it frequently.
“We’re working on having another meeting in September. Our focus will be on scams and frauds. For November, it will be elder abuse. We have five volunteers for the executive at the moment. The idea is we’ll have another meeting in November and by January, the people who have volunteered will be involved in a new executive.”
And their connection to CARP doesn’t stop there: Adam is leading the charge for a revitalized Toronto Chapter, working with CARP HQ to attract new board members and a quorum of volunteers.
The advocacy work of a Chapter volunteer isn’t dissimilar from what the Gordons do in their professional life.
“We’re in the crisis avoidance business,” wryly states Barry Gordon.
Talking to Barry is an eye-opening experience. He is both practical and resilient when discussing the complicated nature of his work. He believes that most of us need help when dealing with the beloved items accrued over a lifetime while selling the family home. The majority of folks tend to see much greater value in their possessions than others may. There’s a lot of ‘emotional value’ in our family heirlooms, but often not a great amount of financial value. However, professionals like the Gordons have the expertise to help families get the most out of their possessions as they downsize and ensure that if something is not in demand for purchase, it gets donated to a charitable organization.
The Gordons understand, as so many of us do, that disposing of precious artifacts collected over a lifetime is not that easy. Neither is selling the family home, filled with memories of times passed. Handling all of that with grace and decorum is a task that involves diplomacy and quietly effective attention to detail.
You are invited to get in touch with the Gordons in Kingston or Toronto and get involved with the restart of those chapters: toronto@carp.ca and kingston@carp.ca
