By: Michael Bennett, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Ridgetown Independent News
If Brian Doidge had his way, every volunteer at The Centre in Ridgetown would have taken the Capitol Theatre Stage last Thursday night to accept a major award.
The Centre was named the Non-Profit Business of the Year Award at the Chatham-Kent Chamber of Commerce’s 2026 Business Excellence Awards.
“We’ve come a long way, that’s all thanks to the volunteers, said Doidge, president of The Centre, after accepting the award.
The Centre was chosen as the Non-Profit Business of the Year Award over a very high-profile list of nominees – Free Help CK, the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance Foundation, CK Pets and Wildlife Rescue, Children’s Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent and Chatham Outreach for Hunger.
“We were very surprised,” Doidge said after hearing the Centre’s name called in the awards-style ceremony as the category’s winner. “We were up against some pretty significant and deserving competition.”
After being nominated, the Centre staff had to complete a nomination form that included support letters from members who lauded the activities and services provided at the Centre.
A selection committee at the Chamber of Commerce reviewed the submission and chose the Ridgetown Centre over the other nominated benevolent groups.
“We had a lot of support from people saying how they enjoy The Centre, all of the activities we provide and how they enjoy the socialization,” Doidge said. “We’ve done pretty well over the last three years – considering where we were three years ago compared to where we are now.”
“I think that was a major contribution to this (award),” Doidge said.
It was just three years ago that the adult activity centre was going through “the dark days,” as Doidge put it.
The new Centre on Erie St. S. had just opened in July 2022 but was in danger of closing by March 2023 when it was faced with a $54,000 tax bill and other unforeseen expenses – with not nearly enough to cover.
“We reevaluated all of our programming, we looked at what was working and what wasn’t working, things that were paying their own way,” Doidge said. “We also laid off all of our staff, and for quite a period of time, we were 100 percent volunteer-directed and operated.”
The board of directors established a fundraising committee to identify additional grant sources and seek donations and financial support from the local community.
“We made a concerted effort to go after a lot of grants that we didn’t before,” Doidge said, a strategy that paid off with 17 successful grants out of 19 applications over the past year.
The Centre was recently informed that it was successful in securing a $183,600 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, which will help introduce new programming, expand current programs, and cover expenses.
The Centre is also expected to receive its share of the 2026 Senior Active Living Centre provincial funding, generally around an annual $55,000 grant, with the municipality adding up to $11,000 in matching funds.
Doidge said that 64 percent of the Centre’s revenue comes from grant funding, an impressive total for a not-for-profit.
Since getting out of the red, the Centre has added several new programs and expanded existing activities, such as its line dance, fitness, and yoga classes. The duplicate bridge program has more than tripled in size.
The Centre also increased its health care support with additional foot care, hearing, heart-health and diabetes clinics.
The number of activities offered monthly has increased from 161 in May 2025 to 185.
One example of a new program taking off is the game of Mahjong, which, in less than a month since its introduction, has expanded to weekly sessions with four tables of players and has since added an evening session to accommodate demand.
“We’re running 64 hours a week, five days and five evenings during the week and Saturday mornings,” Doidge said.
Membership, which was 312 during the dark days in 2023, is now 527.
The 527th and most recent centre member is Mayor Darrin Canniff.
“He was out here a couple of weeks ago with his daughter; he’s a duplicate bridge player, so he bought a membership,” Doidge said.
The club opened up membership to adults aged 30.
“We want to become a community hub for our area, get younger folks involved, and provide something for everybody,” Doidge said.
And the strategy is working. “Our goal is to get 10 percent of our membership under the age of 55, and we’re almost there.”
The Chamber of Commerce recognized The Centre’s remarkable journey over the last three years with the honour of Non-Profit Business of the Year.
And Doidge passed that credit to their volunteers.
“We just want to thank all of the volunteers because without them, especially after the dark days, we wouldn’t have been able to do it,” he said of the Centre’s turnaround. “It’s because of the volunteers that we’ve achieved the success we have.”
2026 Award Recipients:
• ATHENA Leadership Award – Megg Lyttle
• Business of the Year – Medium – Enviroshake
• Business of the Year – Small – Engineering For Kids
• Business of the Year Large – Aarkel Tool And Die
• Community Investment Award – Sons of Kent Brewing Company
• Customer First Award – Business – Gianni’s Tile Gallery
• Customer First Award – Individual – Sydney Lewis
• Diversity Award – Cutie Patootie Studios
• Downtown Business of the Year Award – Crow City Barbers
• Emerging Leader – Erin Genge
• Entrepreneur of the Year – Denny Vervaet
• Innovation Award – Greenfield Global
• New Business Award – Top Shelf Indoor Golf
• Newcomer Entrepreneur – Ashley Purrington
• Non-Profit Business of the Year– The Centre, Ridgetown