Welcome to the Newest NBC Members

June 5, 2008
Big sister Sabrina and big brother Nathan are happy to announce the arrival of their new baby sister!

Natalie Mae Delaney
June 5, 2008, 3:56 PM
8 lbs, 7 oz, 20 1/2 inches

Congratulations to mom and dad, Jennifer and Mark Delaney!

January 19, 2008
From the Blue Taz crew, please welcome David and Susie Parker, Misty's dad and mom.  Also crewing for Ron are new NBC members Jim and Becky Yungbluth.

July 20, 2007
NBC welcomes Stephen Reynolds and fiancée, Kristell Boyd of Omaha.  Stephen and Kristell crew along with children Jesse & Pamela.

January 23, 2007
Matt & Emily Fenster and big sister Morgan welcome the newest member of the Fenster clan.  Elijah William Fenster joined the Fenster household at 3:40 p.m. on Tuesday, January 23, weighing in at 7 lbs 5 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long.  Everyone is doing fine, even grandpa Don who needed some more help out in his shop.  Congratulations to Emily, Matt, Morgan, Grandpa Don and grandma Wendy!

January 20, 2007
At the NBC Banquet, we welcomed the following new members:

Janet Meadows of Omaha has been around ballooning for some time, often accompanying NBC member JoAnne Maurer, and sometimes bringing her daughter Tara or friend Dave.  Janet prefers to crew weekends, but may be available some weekdays and for out of town rallies.

Mark & Julie Schneider and son Logan of Papillion are related to Jim & Jenni Gunhus, but they can be convinced to crew for other pilots as well.  Mark shares their story of how they got "hooked:"

Like many people, Julie and I have always been fascinated by hot air balloons.  Seeing one was a very rare occurrence for myself, and Julie as well, growing up in the rural parts of Nebraska and Iowa respectively.  Julie and I had never even seen a balloon up close until Jim and Jenni Gunhus got involved with the club and got a balloon of their own (Yellow Bird).  Before I became a financial advisor, my previous life was automotive, manufacturing and engineering related.  As such, I find the technical aspects of the balloon & crewing just as exciting as the flight itself.  Julie loves crewing but had a fear of heights prior to her first flight.  As you can imagine, her first flight was quite a milestone for her and an endurance test for Jim Gunhus.  She spent the first half of the flight at his feet huddled down in the bottom of the basket!  It was a very warm and gentle day so she eventually righted herself in the basket and enjoyed the rest of the flight...allowing plenty of space between her body and the edge of the basket of course!  I've seen Jim perform several end-of-flight Champagne rituals for first time riders and I don't think I've seen anyone more appreciative of getting back to Mother Earth safely than Julie (not to mention drinking the champagne).  Logan is our special little guy who just turned 10 years old.  His favorite part of ballooning is two-fold: riding in the chase vehicle while talking to his dad up in the balloon on his walkie-talkies "and" eating chicken fingers and fries with ranch sauce with the entire crew when the day has ended.  We have two older children as well, Dustin and Ashley, who are in college.  They enjoy the balloon too but are at that age where they are much smarter than parents (just ask'em, they'll tell ya).  They prefer to hang mostly with friends instead of un-cool old people like us.  That said, we thoroughly enjoy crewing for Jim and Jenni Gunhus as well as getting to know all of you.  Happy Ballooning!

November 11, 2006
Ginnie & Bil Martin
Ginnie and her father Bil have been crewing for Rob Skiba for some time, and have now joined the club.  Please join us in welcoming them, add them to your rosters, and invite them to come out and crew.  Ginnie also holds a student license, so she will be looking to learn anything she can about our beloved hobby/sport.  Please add them to your crew lists as being available weekends AM & PM and to go to rallies.

Kent & Kellie Dinkelman
Residents of NW Omaha, Kent and Kellie completed their NBC membership applications at the IWCC Awards Brunch this year.  They are willing crew, available weekday evenings as well as weekend mornings and evenings, and are willing to got to out-of-town rallies.  Any pilots needing crew are encouraged to contact them.

Bill & Louise Clemons
Bill & Louise also joined the NBC at this year's IWCC Brunch.  We're glad they did, as the NBC already boasts three of their balloons among our ranks (Wayne Mohring's Wild Goose, Jim Gunhus' Yellow Bird, and Rob Skiba's Kryptonite).  Bill and Louise operate Midwest Balloon Services repair station, and are editors of the Iowa Balloonist Association Newsletter.  Bill also pilots the balloon Colour my World, but since he's married to Louise, we'll include his name on the Crew's Corner.

Mike Shrum
We've known about Mike long before meeting him in person, through the Balloon Reflector chat group hosted by the International Aeronauts League.  Mike is working in Omaha for a couple of months, and has been out to crew and fly with several pilots.  Although Mike pilots La Ristra, we're welcoming him here to the NBC, along with the Dinkelmans and Clemons who all joined up at the IWCC brunch.

Tracy Marshall
Please welcome Tracy Marshall of Omaha to the NBC.  Tracy attended our April crew training session, and has been out with the Dreamtime crew putting her newly-learned skills to work.  Tracy is available to crew any evening, and would love to hear from any pilot needing crew.  Welcome Tracy!

Jerry & Deb Jensen
Residents of Wayne, Nebraska, Jerry and Deb crew for Wayne Mohring and Wild Goose.  Jerry has always been interested in the balloons, and when he got a chance to crew for Wayne Mohring at the Wakefield Balloon Rally in 2004, he was able to take his first ride provided by Wayne.  He hopes to get his pilot's license some day.  Jerry is currently a supervisor with Michael Foods in Wakefield and also enjoys antique Farmall tractors.

Deb is an Accountant and currently works for Region 4 Behavioral Health Services in Norfolk in the fiscal department.  She is an avid Green Bay Packer Fan to the extent that Jerry considers himself a "football widower".  Everybody knows her favorite team because her vehicle license plate is "4 Favre".

Jerry and Deb have 5 children in various parts of Iowa with one boy currently serving in Iraq as a Blackhawk pilot with the 57th Med Co Air Ambulance, "The Original Dustoff."  They also have 6 grandchildren.

At the Spring Crew Training session on April 15, NBC gained three new members, all from Rob and Glenda Skiba's Kryptonite crew.  Please welcome Scott and Debbie Baker and Kevin Hyde, all of Omaha.

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