The Gold Canyon Community Center is celebrating its first year of operation.

The center, 6021 S. Kings Ranch Road, operated by Gold Canyon Community Inc., has hosted nearly 2,000 visitors during the past year and logged in some 1,500 volunteer hours, according to a release.

GCCI president Dave Coward, director of the center, gives a big shoutout to its sponsors: “As a nonprofit entity, we depend on grants, sponsorships, and donations for all our operating expenses.

“The generosity of local business sponsors has been key, including Moore Physical Therapy, TRIAD Pain Group, Heart of Healing Hospice, Right At Home, State Farm Insurance, Todd Jaman Insurance, Gold Canyon Assisted Living, Rebalance Functional Fitness, Kabat Frontier Ace Hardware, Trina’s Cookies, and Lori Blank Real-estate. We can’t thank them enough for giving back to the community and supporting our mission of bringing people together and making a difference in their lives,” he said.

During the year, the community center became an official Pinal County Visitors Center and also played host to the first Gold Canyon HOA summit, bringing local homeowner association representatives together to discuss issues of common interest.

An open house first-anniversary celebration at the center is scheduled for 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19. Residents are invited to drop by, bring the family, enjoy food truck treats, meet the sponsors, and review the upcoming schedule of crafts, classes, and events scheduled for the fall and coming year.

Several levels of sponsorship are available to help support the center with benefits ranging from free use of the facility to extensive opportunities for business promotion and publicity.

For information, visit www.gccincaz.org/thecenter.