Kennedy, a leader in both the hockey world and his community of Kincardine, passed away after a long battle with cancer
Cambridge, ON – When Doug moved to Kincardine in the 1980’s he had a direct impact on the Kincardine sports community. He coached baseball and hockey, and would go out of his way to make sure young athletes enjoyed their experiences with the sport they loved.
Born and raised in St. Marys, Kennedy moved to Kincardine in the 1980s where he owned and operated the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) franchise. He has worked in the restaurant industry most of his life.
Doug was the driving force behind starting a committee to see junior hockey return to Kincardine in the mid 90’s. Since the return of junior hockey in Kincardine Doug filled many different positions over his 25 years of service with the team from coach, general manager, director of hockey operations, vice president, and fundraising chair. Without Doug’s passion for the Kincardine Bulldogs and the community we would not be in existence today.
During his time with the Bulldogs he was always involved with different committees within the league, and had many great ties to the OHA and its members. From 2016-2019 Doug was the chairman of the PJHL start up committee, which has helped the PJHL become one of the strongest and largest junior hockey leagues in Ontario.
Doug’s most recent position with the PJHL was the North Conference Manager (Pollock and Carruthers divisions), where he was seen travelling to all the team’s rinks within both divisions to make sure he was visible and available to those who required his support. Doug’s love for the game and its athletes has made him a perfect fit for this job. He truly had the best interest of the league and its member teams when holding this position.
Last year, he received the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) Gold Stick Award for 50 years of outstanding service to hockey in Kincardine. He also had the honour of hosting the OHA Annual General Meeting in June.
His impact in Kincardine has been immense. He served on many municipal committees over the years, including the recreation board and the tourism committee, and was co-chairman of the Davidson Centre addition committee.
Kennedy is survived by his wife, Cathy Alcombrack, three sons and three grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements will be announced later.
