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Long-serving MD retires after 35 years

A long-serving managing director who has clocked up 35 years of service with the same company has retired.

Colin Spicer, of Shropshire Newspapers, bid a farewell to colleagues at the company’s Telford head office after a week of events to mark his departure.

The 61-year-old (below) originally trained as a metallurgist but joined the Shropshire Star in 1974 as an advert sales rep.

Among the other roles he performed were display sales manager, circulation manager and advertisement manager before being made MD four years ago.

Mr Spicer said: “It has been an emotional week, particularly saying goodbye to colleagues I have worked with for many years.”

The retirement follows major upheavals at parent company Midland News Association which announced last October it was merging certain operations and having a single board of directors, headed by Express and Star Ltd MD Alan Harris.

At the time the company said Mr Spicer was working alongside Mr Harris to implement the necessary structural changes.

Among those paying tribute to his career were Peter Guy, Shropshire Newspapers advertisement manager and director.

He said: “Colin’s retirement will be a great loss, not only to Shropshire Newspapers and MNA Media, but also to business in the county to which he has made a major contribution over the years.

“Colin has always led from the front and been a great ambassador, setting high standards, but always with a smile on his face.”

Comments

fred (28/07/2009 09:06:23)
Why was this story written with a veiled refernce to the fact that something may be amiss. Spice could have retired a year ago but agreed to stay on for a year to help Shropshire Newspapers and the Midland News Assocition through the early part of the recession.

Mr Mobile (28/07/2009 09:21:43)
Isn’t it a case of ‘Damned if you do, and damned if you don’t’ from HTFP’s perspective. The simple fact is: The Midland News Association has undergone some major re-structuring over the past 7 months. It’s no secret and has been widely reported, on HTFP and in the company’s own newspapers and websites. If HTFP hadn’t mentioned it, then some sarcastic individual would have come on the comments and chastised them for glossing over the recent upheavals!! And I thought men worked until they were 65 before they could claim pensions and the like – not 60?!?!?!?