by Joel Belloc, Mayor, City of Eloy
It is a beautiful spring in Pinal County. I hope everyone has been able to get out and enjoy the weather, view the spectacular spring flowers and be thankful for a new year. One of the biggest events going on right now is the U.S. Census. It is now underway and I hope all of you will do your part and fill in and send the form.
Being counted helps bring new federal dollars to Eloy, which will result in better streets, parks, senior programs and much, much more.
A couple of other projects are completed or in the works that we hope bring new investment to Eloy. One is the recently completed hotel feasibility analysis that shows our community is ready and able to support new hotel development.
City staff is in the hunt for a new hotel using this data as a key part of our overall marketing strategy. Eloy, with its prime location right on Interstate 10, offers one of the best sites in Arizona for jobs, hotels and other amenities. Now we just have to prove it and take advantage of what Eloy has to offer.
One of Eloy’s best-kept secrets is our very own Skydive Arizona, located at the Eloy Municipal Airport. People from all over the world are well aware of Eloy’s skydiving attributes and are anxious to return each year for some of the best recreational and competitive freefalling and parachuting.
Eloy attracts enthusiasts from dozens of countries and each of them stays in the area, eats in the restaurants, shops and in some cases even live in Eloy and the surrounding area for up to six months at a time. Chances are if you hear groups of people speaking a language you can’t quite understand it could be skydivers here to enjoy their chosen sport.
If you’re looking for a unique activity in Eloy, drop by the airport, visit the Bent Prop Saloon for some of the best food in Pinal County and then stay awhile to watch single and tandem skydivers soar through the air and land gracefully on their feet with a huge grin on their face!
For the more adventurous, sign up for a tandem jump and experience the exhilaration of freefall, the grace of floating on air, the excitement of landing, no worse for the wear, but having the time of your life. For the less adventurous, Skydive Arizona also has a fully operational indoor wind tunnel allowing for the full sensation of skydiving, but only several feet off the ground.
If you are less inclined to jump out of airplanes, but want to experience something new that celebrates the past, visit the newly opened Santa Cruz Valley Historic Museum, Sunland Visitor Center and Chamber of Commerce. A former school building, which now houses all three organizations, has been completely renovated and houses one of the finest collections of artifacts, historical photos and documents from Pinal County. They are centrally located in Eloy on Toltec Road, north of I-10 and south of Frontier Street.
Eloy is a place to enjoy during every season, but spring is when the desert blossoms and Eloy shines.
Enjoy the amenities of our community.
