Alex Lyon & Son held its annual customer appreciation picnic July 15 at the auction company’s headquarters in Bridgeport, N.Y.

A large gathering of consigners, buyers, employees and friends in the community enjoyed great food in a relaxing environment.

This celebration has become a yearly event held the night before Alex Lyon & Son’s annual July Syracuse sale.

In 1950, Alex Lyon purchased a farm in Bridgeport. There, he established the Alex Lyon Livestock Company, which focused primarily on the sale of cattle and farm machinery by public auction. In 1973, Alex’s son, Jack, became actively involved in the family business, after graduating from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in marketing.

Jack Lyon’s interests focused in the diversification of the family business. Within a short period of time, the company was regularly holding construction equipment sales. Today, the company is known as Alex Lyon and Son Sales Managers and Auctioneers Inc. and focuses on holding construction equipment auctions large and small all across the United States. With buyers representing all 50 states regularly attending its sales and even customers from outside the country bidding in person and online, the company has grown to be one of the largest of its type in North America.