A Message from the President . . . it was quite the social gathering...
Wow! What a turnout at the February 17th “Lost Members” Social and award ceremony for Dr. Carol Rymer Davis. The award given to Dr. Carol Rymer Davis was the Don Ida Spirit of Ballooning for Outstanding Achievement; a somewhat different award than the Don Ida Spirit of Ballooning Award. The latter award couldn’t encompass the total breadth of Dr. Davis’ accomplishments in the balloon world, so the CBC board created another award especially for Dr. Davis. John Davis received the award. Don Ida would be so proud!
I counted 67 people in the room at our new meeting venue; Piccolo’s! A good time was had by all! It was announced that the club was starting the 2011 year with a total of 119 memberships. Well, we increased that number by 9! The membership committee had a total of 3 new memberships and 6 renewing memberships, all paid up on site! Thanks to Dan Griffin and Scott Taylor for having the signup forms and necessary pins/decals to complete the new/renewal memberships! Great job guys! I wish Dan and Scott would let me in on the CBC secret new member handshake!
There were a lot of faces that we hadn’t seen in some time. Some old members, some not! Always good to see balloon family from near and far! How about Mr. & Mrs. Ray Bair! Wow, all the way from Albuquerque! David Bair, their son from Colorado Springs was also there! Jeanie & Dewey Reinhard from Colorado Springs along with Mary Lou and Joe Woods of Denver were in attendance; always fun to see them and catch up. Mr. Joe Woods was looking particularly dashing even without his tux and he’s always so ornery! Greg Vaeth, son of Jack Vaeth out of Colorado Springs came. Jack instilled the love of flight to Greg and the balloon “Jonquils” is a fond reminder of Jack. George Kimmes; haven’t seen him in a long time. It was good to catch up. What a hoot! John and Bonnie Capone strolled in with Bonnie looking as beautiful as ever and John always has that mischievous twinkle in his eye! Also in attendance were Amir Cohen and David Levin. They are both quite the world travelers. It’s always good to catch up with both of them, especially David with regard to his latest ballooning aspirations. I could go on and on with the attendees but perhaps, you should just come to a meeting. I promise you will have fun!
At the beginning of the meeting, we had a little business; a brief synopsis from each category, treasury, membership, web, and or not! Sometimes we are dysfunctional, but nevertheless we are a family. The February lost members social proved this. If there is just one thing I want to promote as president (actuall there are several) but if there were just one thing...I would pick camaraderie with my balloon family. Yes, that means you! Socializing and learning from my extended family is what ballooning is all about after flying. We can learn a lot as pilots and crew while listening to each other’s stories about a particular flight or landowner issue. Listening to others and utilizing that new found knowledge is what keeps us safe. Safety is paramount to our sport.
To that end, I have planned our March meeting around liability and safety. Our speaker for March is Mr. Jim Maggard, Esq. Jim is an attorney that has agreed to talk to the members about our liability, the liability waivers we all have to have signed each and every time we fly, and how much or how little we are protected by them. I have titled the program “How protected are we, really?” The FAA insisted on being in attendance for this program because, as they explained it, if you’ve had to hire an attorney, the FAA has already been called in. Mr. Phil Potter from Denver FSDO will be in attendance.
Our April meeting will be a kickoff to the CBC Photo contest. CBC member Deborah Killian will talk to the members about digital photography, the contest rules, the judges of the contest and then try divisions. I am looking forward to receiving all the pictures for judging throughout the year. Final picture submissions will be at the end of October which gives all of you plenty of time to get those perfect shots! Perhaps we can even memorialize the winning pictures with a CBC calendar or CBC photo address book! Any suggestion would be welcome.
In May, we will be having the CBC picnic on Saturday, MAY 14, 2011! I am trying to work the logistics for a pig roast. Frank Kafka has graciously donated his time, roaster, charcoal and foil to the event. Ginger and Grumpy (Tommy) DeLaney have also graciously offered up there home and yard for the picnic. This type of event would not be possible without the generous offerings of our members! Thank you to Frank, Ginger and Grumpy for their continued support of the Colorado Balloon Club.
Well, I have provided you the next three months of general meeting programs. I am sure there is something of interest for you! We would love to have you attend any or all of the meetings. Join us won’t you? It promises to be fun!
Barbi Hann