Balloon Fiesta volunteers rise to the occasion

From scanning entry tickets and handling maintenance to tailing balloons as part of chase crews, more than 3,000 volunteers help keep the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta afloat.

Even before the sun peeped over the Sandias on opening day, excited festival goers gathered at the volunteer chase crew booth at Balloon Fiesta Park.

There, other volunteers — officially dubbed “navigators” — assigned them to different balloonists, sorted schedules and enthusiastically explained chase crewing to first-timers.

Balloon chase crews are a part of all aspects of setup, takeoff and teardown, according to the Chase Crew Handbook. Crew members help inflate and steady the balloon as it fills with hot air, while others operate the fan or keep onlookers at a safe distance.

From the ground, crew members also follow the balloon on its flight and carefully disassemble and repack the craft once it lands.

Jan Sponberg was among volunteers assigning prospective crew members to balloonists. Sponberg is going on five years as a navigator at the fiesta, which she says “could not operate” without the help of thousands of volunteers.

Many balloonists come from out of state, or even out of the country, Sponberg said, and flying out a full chase crew is a costly endeavor. Sponberg said most balloonists are dependent on volunteers and couldn’t fly without them.

In fact, chase crew members make up two-thirds of all volunteers, according to the Balloon Fiesta guidebook.

This was retired high school chemistry teacher Sherry Dudeck’s first year volunteering at the fiesta. Dudeck flew in from New York, overjoyed to watch the science she taught her classroom come to life on the Balloon Fiesta launch field.

Dudeck signed up for the chase crew to be a part of what she called “real, live, chemistry.”

Meanwhile, attending the Balloon Fiesta has been on life’s to-do list for Florida couple Sheila and George Shaheen for years now, they told the Journal.

“The outdoors, the blue sky, all the colorful balloons in the air — it’s just a great picture,” Sheila Shaheen said.

While coming to the Balloon Fiesta has been a dream, actually going up in a balloon is not what they signed up for. They were content to enjoy the show while standing on solid ground as first-time crew members.

“We’re just happy to watch,” George Shaheen said.

The couple, who spend most their time at sea level, admitted they both have a fear of heights.