GLBT Idaho history: 1980 - 1990

In August of 1983 a committee gathered together to discuss the formation of a new gay and lesbian organization that would facilitate communication between the rest of the disparate organizations in the LGBT community. A month later (September) The Community Center was formed during a meeting that took place at Al's Restaurant that was on 215 Main St. in Boise. The month after that (October) the first board of directors (acting in an interim capacity) was elected. The board consisted of five individuals from the community: Dennis Barrett, Don Carroll, Kay Saro, MaryEvelyn Smith, and Mykel Stanger. In December of that year The Community Center: Resources For Gay and Lesbian People, Inc. was formally incorporated in the state of Idaho. They wasted no time when a year later The Community Center published the first edition of what has become the longest running LGBT specific newspaper in the State. Originally called "The Paper", then "Out!", today "Diversity" is one of the longest running LGBT specific newspapers in the Northwest United States.

Currently The Community Center houses meeting space for LGBT events, incorporates a library or LGBT books and DVDs, and acts as a resource information center for other organizations in the community. Though the center has never been a counseling center, a social service organization, or a political action group, it has encouraged those activities and assisted in their formation.