Tuesday, Croatian October 9, 2012 Centre celebrating 40 years in business.
Owned by 27 shareholders
Before the Croatian Centre opened 40 years ago, its members met in church halls across Windsor but had nowhere to call home for weddings, banquets and soccer game celebrations.
“We had a soccer club but nowhere to get together, so a group of us decided to buy a building and start our own club and cultural centre,” said Mary Lovric, one of the original 36 shareholders.
They bought a former bowling alley at 5259 Tecumseh Rd. E., and using gallons of sweat equity turned it into a banquet hall and cultural centre.
“It sounds easy now, but it wasn’t so easy when we did it,” said Lovric. “It’s taken a lot of hard work to keep it going, but it’s been worth it all these years.”
Rather than employing a membership scheme similar to many other ethnic, social and cultural clubs across the region, the Croatian Centre is owned by a group of 27 surviving shareholders.
“We decided to run it as a business because we felt it was easier and more efficient to have a small group of people making decisions … ,” said club president Mary Smoljanec. “We put the money we earn back into the business, and we’ve done this for decades without any loans or government assistance.
“But there were times when we probably needed it,” said Smoljanec. “There have been some difficult times, but we’ve survived for 40 years, and I think we’ll keep going this way.
The day-to-day operations are managed by Monika Babic and a kitchen staff of four who prepare foods for the area’s Meals on Wheels program as well as weekly breakfast meetings, weddings, banquets and festivals from a variety of different national groups. There are also about two dozen casual workers who are called in as needed to work banquets, receptions and large parties.
“We’ve had Irish celebrations in here, Mexican fiestas and just about everything else,” said Babic. “We don’t turn anyone away. It’s a business, and we run it like one.”
The club has no plans to replace shareholders who have dropped out over the years, said Smoljanec. “When shares become available, the club simply buys them back so there are no conflicts within a family over ownership.”
A banquet with traditional Croatian music and entertainment is planned for Oct. 20, beginning at 5 p.m. Tickets are $25; call 519-948-5322 or email croatian-centre@bellnet.ca.