At just after 4pm on Friday, 23 February, the Atwell resident was the one millionth visitor to walk through the doors at Cockburn ARC since it opened to the public in May 2017.
The Centre surprised the mother of two with a fanfare, red carpet, confetti and 12 months membership to both Cockburn ARC and its Swim ARCademy.
Ms Gibson was arriving at the Centre with her children Harriet (6) and Alex (8) who was about to play in his usual Friday afternoon basketball match as a member of the Harvest Lakes club.
Both children are already weekly participants in the school-aged Swim ARCademy program, honing their swimming abilities in the Drive and Build levels.
“We got the kids involved with ARC as soon as it opened with the swim academy but neither my husband or I are members,” Ms Gibson said.
“I’ve often thought I’d like to be a member, my mum and dad are and they love it, but the kids have been our priority.
“I’m excited to participate in group fitness and try out the training equipment.”
On hearing the news that his wife was ARC’s millionth visitor, Arron Bloodworth agreed that she always had been “one in a million”.
Cockburn ARC manager Brett McEwin said the Centre was delighted to welcome its 1 millionth visitor.
“The milestone could not have been achieved without the support of the Centre’s loyal members and the expanding nature of our customer base to reach 1 million visitors,” Mr McEwin said.
“It is also a testament to the hard work and dedication of all our staff since opening, in providing outstanding service to the local and surrounding community.
“Attendances have exceeded forecasts, which is helping us reinvest in the Centre to continually enhance member experience, which we are currently achieving by expanding the gym area.”
Mayor Logan Howlett said the achievement was a great source of pride for the City, as the $109m Centre was not expected to reach 1 million visitors per annum until its fourth year of operation.
“This shows the Centre is meeting community needs and its overall vision of getting more people, more active in Cockburn,” Mayor Howlett said.