A Tilbury man, who created an online petition to keep Ryder Hall as a community facility, has proven there is power in numbers.
Jeremy Cartier, who is the owner of Drag U Down Customs and Hashtag Fitness, started a petition online after receiving news that a fitness centre from outside of Chatham-Kent submitted a bid to use half of the hall, which would take away from other community events held at the venue.
In a span of only three days, the petition was signed by over 800 supporters. Cartier announced on his Facebook page on Saturday that he has been informed by Councillor Bryon Fluker that the idea to rent out the hall to the business has "definitely been squashed and there's no chance of it moving forward."
"I think it definitely had something to do with the petition, the amount of people that supported it, the people reaching out to the councillors, and Tilbury as a whole. I just think we lit a fire real quick," says Cartier.
Cartier says he was ecstatic to hear the good news.
"I'm from Tilbury, I basically grew up here and attended many events at Ryder Hall. I just feel that it would of been a huge loss to the community to lose such a facility for a few bucks," he says.
Councillor Bryon Fluker has spoken with Blackburnnews.com and confirmed this information. There will no longer be a public session arranged to discuss the matter, as Councillor Mark Authier previously mentioned.
*With files from Natalia Vega