What’s New at the OPC? Rochester Area Social and Activity Center Gets New Branding
(Terry Lakins, Oct. 8, 2023)
Rochester, MI—The OPC Social and Activity Center is the official newly rebranded name of the facility that provides activities, therapy, and services for patrons 50 and up. Formerly known as The Older Persons’ Commission, the name change is to reflect a better authentic representation of what the center is.
Executive Director Renee Cortright said they wanted to emphasize the two biggest aspects of the center, which are the various activities they offer and the big social gathering place that has been fostered. The OPC was kept as an acronym to nod to their original name but also for some familiarity.
The official rebranding announcement came on September 13, 2023, the day of their annual picnic for their patrons. With the Rochester Hills Falcon Marching band for entertainment, and about 250 members attending plus local elected officials, the event became the perfect time to announce the rebranding.
“We already had this set gathering every year, so it felt like a wonderful time to announce the rebrand.” Cortright said.
Cortright, who has been Executive Director since May of 2014, has felt that the name didn’t fit with the center’s goal. Also, the name “Older Person Commission” wasn’t exactly forthcoming enough to its purpose. Cortright said it could easily be misconstrued, as it just hints at the target age demographic but just vague enough to be confusing. A common misconception was that the OPC was a fancy nursing home. Cortright said that she knew of a patron at the center who previously had driven past their facility for 20 years and never actually knew what they did until they came in and asked. The hope is the new name will clear that up.
“Our new name better describes our focus on socialization and the activities that we offer for the 50 plus.” Cortright said. “Over the years what’s happened is we’ve had to try and explain what our name means. So, we’ve taken the guesswork out of it by saying who we really are and what we do.”
The rebrand comes on the 20th year anniversary of their current location, and the 40th year anniversary of the establishment of the organization. This timely brand change, which Cortright refers to as their 40-20, was not planned and more of a happy accident. Originally the rebranding was set to happen earlier, but its development was impacted by the covid-19 pandemic. Cortright said they needed to focus their resources at the time on serving their community, and ultimately the decision was made to shelve the rebranding. What started as a major setback turned out to be a blessing as it gave them more time to flesh out their vision.
“It was not truly planned because we were hoping to do this a couple of years ago. It was pushed back due to covid.” Cortright said. “We stepped away from the rebrand, we refreshed, and honestly it all couldn’t have worked out better. Especially to have the big announcement during out annual celebration on our 40-20.”
The OPC Social and Activity Center itself offers quite a bit for its members. The 90,000 square foot facility offers a wide variety of services, programs, and activities to ages 50 and up. Some of the features included in the facility are two pools (a lap pool and therapy pool), an indoor walking track, a gym, a cardio/weight room, a pottery and art studio, a woodshop, a library, a computer lab, classrooms for activities, a full auditorium, and a dining room.
A lot of the rooms at the center, such as the library room, end up being multipurpose as it hosts a bunch of community groups within the facility. Some of these included groups are the chess group, a card group, and a crochet group. The center even has a quarterly publication, often covering stories about their members and their lives. Cortright said they are always looking ahead as the programs and activities evolve.
“What’s exciting is in just in 20 years the programs and activities have transitioned to the 50 plus adult then to 50 plus adult now.” Cortright Said. “They are much more sophisticated and in tune with their health and wellness. So, we take that in affect in the programs that we provide at the center.”
The OPC also has supported services such as Meals on Wheels for Northeast Oakland County. This covers their main target communities of Rochester, Rochester Hills, and Oakland Township, but it also includes Auburn Hills, Addison, Brandon, Oxford, Orion, and Independence Township. They provide transportation for adults 60 plus and for disabled under the age of 60. They also have an adult day care for individuals struggling with dementia. Their senior resource department provides navigation services, outside counseling, Medicare, Medicaid, and snow removal for nearby residents. They also have five support groups, each designated to a specific type. The support groups are for vision, grief (called sharing and caring), dementia, and two Parkinson support groups (a general one and one for the care givers). Cortright said the Parkinson care givers support group is important because the care givers need their own support as well.
“Something we say a lot is that the OPC has something for everyone 50 and up.” Cortright said. “It’s interesting what draws people to the center.”
With a new name and a fresh outlook ahead of them the OPC Social and Activity Center looks ahead to the beginning of a new era. Cortright said that she loves the energy of the members, and only hopes that they can keep building upon that solid foundation that they have created at the OPC.
“The members are so grateful for the facility and the offerings. We know we are helping so many our programs and services.” Cortright said. “The socialization is truly the nucleus of what we provide here. It’s our connections with ourselves and our connections with each other. They know they have a place to come here with friends, make new friends or just expand their horizons.”
The center is designated for the residents of Rochester, Rochester Hills, and Oakland Township, though outside residents can become members for an annual fee. Learn more at https://opccenter.org/.
