GUELPH – The local Catholic education community filled the spacious auditorium at the new Catholic Education Centre (CEC) on Nov. 29 with about 150 people showing up to celebrate, honour and bless the building.
It’s the new headquarters of the Wellington Catholic District School Board (WCDSB), located at 255 Speedvale Ave. W. in Guelph.
For 30 years the board has discussed creating a centralized Catholic Education Centre, said director of education Michael Glazier during the building’s grand opening.
And it’s been almost exactly a year since the board’s senior team toured the facility, he said, reflecting on how during that tour “we felt in that moment this was going to be the future home of Wellington Catholic.”
The CEC is an amalgamation of three WCDSB buildings that housed the board’s office staff: 59, 69 and 75 Woolwich St.
Glazier said he had some mixed emotions about the move, as “those three buildings were a place where we built so many memories together, so leaving there was tough.”
Everything from the three buildings has been moved to the CEC, including archives that date back to the 1800s.
Glazier said the people represented by those 19th century archives are “the people who set the vision for what is Wellington Catholic today.”
Glazier told WCDSB associate director Tracy McLennan “we are forever grateful for your dedication and are appreciative for your leadership,” and McLennan shared a tearful address during the grand opening.
She expressed gratitude for the “countless hours and dedication” so many people contributed to see the project through to completion.
“We are finally here today because of the shared vision, patience and desire to serve our families in Wellington County,” McLennan said.
“This is a building that provides accessibility to and for our community.”
To illustrate this community connection, each meeting room in the CEC is named for one of the eight municipalities served by the board.
At the building’s grand opening ceremony UGDSB trustee and vice-chair Vikki Dupuis said it felt “almost surreal for us to be gathered here today.”
Dupuis said it took “literally decades” to find the perfect place for the CEC.
She said the whole process “felt like a giant game of Jenga” – a single wrong move could cause the project to collapse.
But “every challenge and hurdle was met,” Dupuis said, often involving staff putting in long hours during evenings and weekends.
Dupuis said her family coincidentally has strong ties to the new CEC, as its site was home to her father’s business for over a decade.
“Catholic Education will be well served on this site,” Dupuis said with confidence.
For now, part of the building on Speedvale Avenue West is leased out, but the board has plans to occupy the whole building in the future, Glazier said.
“We will continue to grow and we will continue to change,” he added.
