For more than 50 years the Golden Opportunities Vocational Rehabilitation Centre, or GOVRC as it’s more popularly known, has been making a difference in the lives of its clients.
That commitment was recognized on Thursday, Oct. 23, when it was presented with the Municipality of Cumberland’s Community Support and Service Award during the Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce’s annual awards ceremony that coincided with Small Business Week.
“It’s a tremendous honour and the clients are very proud to be the recipient of this award as it recognizes what they do every day here at GOVRC and in the community,” manager Paul Williams said. “To me it’s a thankful reward for my board trusting me in revising and changing the program to allow our clients to be more inclusive in the community and more active in the community.
“We’ve expanded into a food program and a rec and leisure program and every week we’re working to get out into the community to do something different for everyone to be part of the community.”
Municipality of Cumberland Mayor Rod Gilroy (left) presents the Municipality’s Community Support and Service Award to Paul Williams of GOVRC in Springhill during the Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce’s awards gala on Oct. 23, 2025.
GOVRC opened as an activity centre in 1972. The program had seven clients and included social and recreational activities such as making small crafts, knitting, colouring, bowling, dances and other events.
It was funded via grants and received free rent from the ROAB Lodge and continued to be operated by volunteers until the late 1970s when the provincial Community Services Department began providing an annual grant that enabled the centre to hire a full-time coordinatorand saw a change in the focus to teaching vocational skills that produced quality controlled products that were sold to raise money and provide life skills programs.
The workshop opened in Springhill’s industrial park in 1980 and in 1988 an expansion was completed and a greenhouse constructed.
GOVRC is partially funded by the province of Nova Scotia, and operates social enterprises including a greenhouse, an on-line auction, laundry services and a woodworking shop that assembles pallets, survey stakes and kindling. These social enterprises provide valuable employment and life skills to our participants.
It primarily provides pallets to Cumberland County manufacturers such as Compass Minerals, Granby Furnaces, Mauser (Ropak) Packaging, Benjamin's and Waldale Manufacturing.
It also repairs pallets for Oxford Frozen Foods each year to divert materials destined for the municipal landfill.
Another accomplishment is its new Community Employment program, recreation and leisure program and a cooking program enabling clients to participate more fully in the community more than ever before.
Getting out into the community more is something both the Bridge Adult Service Centre in Amherst and Sunset Industries in Pugwash have been doing more of. With more new clients at GOVRC, Williams said, it provided an excellent opportunity for them to do the same.
Williams said the future includes expanding its new programs to enhance inclusiveness and the board completing a physical expansion to the facility in Springhill that will include some automation of the pallet-making operation to give those working in the woodshop more opportunity to be involved in the community.
A fundraising campaign will be launched soon with hopes to see construction in late 2026, but more likely in spring 2027.
GOVRC staff and clients celebrated the organization’s recognition by the Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce with the Municipality of Cumberland Community Service and Support Award at the chamber’s annual awards gala on Oct. 23, 2025.
Other award winners from the chamber’s awards gala included:
Business of the Year (less than 10 employees) – NS Sure Electrical of Parrsboro
Business of the year (more than10 employees) – Cabinet Central, Amherst
Startup Business of the Year – Petals and Pitchforks Farm Market, Collingwood
Exporter of the Year – Crossroads Cycle, Pugwash
Town of Amherst Community Support and Service Award – Nova Social Media and Marketing