Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/18261
Larry Ratkoviak I became affiliated with members of the ballooning community as a result of a wel- come home/awards ceremony recognizing the return home of military personnel from Desert Shield/Desert Storm in Decem- ber of 1991. The intended use of bal- loons was dashed by early morning thunderstorms, the ceremonies and associated “tailgating” spawned my contin- ued interest in the sport of bal- looning and a camaraderie equaled by none. Many years of crewing for and later learning to fly from close friends Tony Rivara and Koh Murai with all due respect to others too numerous to men- tion, ultimately led me to my wife of ten years and fellow balloon pilot Terri, and an addi- Continued on page 14 Terri Ratkoviak Terri’s parents introduced her to ballooning back in 1993 when they sponsored a balloon at the then, “Siskiyou County Balloon Fair”. Terri took her first ride that weekend and crewed for the next year. Deciding that this was the sport for her, she then decided to buy herself a Christmas pre- sent, purchasing her first bal- loon, ‘Scarlet Ribbons’ in December 1995. Five months later she received her Private Pilot Certificate. Living in Bull- head, Arizona didn’t give her that many options for flying so she packed up and moved to Reno, Nevada in 1995. Terri met her husband through the ballooning community and now it is a family affair with their son Riley (7 years). In 2002, Terri & Larry moved to Northern Cal- Continued on page 14 Marianne LeDoux My husband, Bob, and I started hot air ballooning in 1980 when Bob decided to swap his beautiful glider for our first balloon. We "paid our dues" with the early morning long drives to launch sites for Bob's instruction and the gruel- ing "how to be the perfect crew chief lessons." There were the perks of finding new friends; the beauty of our colorful hot air balloon, Sundance; the fun of sharing our adventures; and learning about this whole, new unknown world. After Bob completed his commercial license, it became my turn to learn to fly. I was hooked--BIG time! Bob was (is) a very thorough and demand- ing instructor. Despite all his Continued on page 14 Gary Peterson. I have been flying bal- loons for 15 years, and been to many events around the country. finished in the money at the Great Reno Balloon race several times in the past several years.Had the privelage of giving a won- derful lady a ride on her 100th birthday several years ago. I am a retired Los Angeles Fireman, my wife and I have 6 grandchil- dren and 4 great grand- children. Balloon: Sunrise Serenade Jane Jennings San Ramon Jay, my husband, and I ordered Sunrise Serenade from the factory in 1992. We had been crewing for a variety of balloons and decided that we wanted to be on our own, so Jay signed up for lessons as part of the purchase. Designing the color scheme proved to be a marriage challenge, but we settled on 50% yellow (Jay wanted yellow) and 50% pink/purple/teal (I wanted lots of color). At first Jay flew and I chased, but eventually we switched and in 1997 I got my license. Since then we have traveled in our RV, hauling the balloon with us and flying along Continued on page 14 Ken Lehr Ken got his start in aviation at the age of fifteen learning to fly in the family airplane and getting his pilots license before he had a drivers license. In the late eighties, Ken got interest- ed in hot air balloons and soon found a few Sacramento pilots willing to teach him to fly bal- loons while acting as their crew help. Ken and his wife, Mari- anne, are still enjoying the bal- loon as well as their airplane. Frankly, the airplane seems to work out better for arriving at planned destinations. Ken & Marianne participat- ed in the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta for many years but now stay closer to home. Our favorite events are now Albany, Oregon, Medford, Oregon, the Continued on page 14 Page 8 Friday, October 22, 2010 Red Bluff Daily News