One of the major cornerstones of the ballooning season is upon us. The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta runs October 5^th through the 13^th this year. As always, the event promises massive group ascensions, a plethora of special shapes, glows, dawn patrols, competitions and more. In addition to all the ballooning and tailgating fun, the BFA will be holding a meeting for the Board as well as our Annual General Meeting.

The Board of Directors will meet upstairs in the Anderson-Abruzzo International Balloon Museum on Thursday, October 3^rd at 8:00 am and the meeting will run most of the day. The agenda covers a wide variety of topics from financials and committee reports to current issues and new ideas. At the end of the day, the new Board members will be officially welcomed and the year’s officers will be selected.

On Saturday, October 5^th at 1:00 pm, please come join us at The Landing on Fiesta field for the Annual General Meeting.

The Board of Directors will be present to provide a short recap of some of the most pressing issues in the organization, present the newly elected officers and present some very special awards. Everyone is welcome so please join us!

The Balloon Ride Operator Division (BROD) of the BFA will hold its 2^nd Annual meeting at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. The meeting will be on October 7, 20133 at 1:00 PM on Fiesta field upstairs on balcony of the sponsor hospitality area, formerly known as Garduno’s.  The Balloon Ride Operator Division of the BFA now has over 130 members and Board of Directors, a website being built, Bi monthly Newsletter, and have gained an amazing amount of momentum for the Division

Agenda of this meeting includes:

• Preview of the BROD website.
• FAA speaker and proposed potential changes to how Ride Operators do business.
• Speaker Jeff Chatterton from Checkmate Public Affairs to speak about a year round Public Relations Plan for Crisis Industry Management.
• Educational aspects.
• Convention 2015.
• Member recruitment and volunteer opportunities for committees and much more.  

Please plan on attending. We DO NOT want to leave anyone out! Everyone is welcome. We welcome all input, suggestions, and discussion on this exciting new membership opportunity. You can also visit our Facebook page and look for Balloon Ride Operators Division!

 BFA’s most prestigious award is the Shields-Trauger Award and the Board of Directors voted to approve two nominations for 2013.

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The BFA Board of Directors held its face to face meeting October 3^rd at the Anderson-Abruzzo International Balloon Museum in Albuquerque, NM. The meeting served to bring together the Board to discuss many of the current issues for the organization face to face (or via Skype for some). The agenda included a wide variety of topics such as the 2014 budget, division and committee reports, elections recaps and the selection of officers for the following year and much more.

Officers for 2014
President, Sam Parks, Southeast Region Director
Vice President, Scott Wooge, At-Large Director
Treasurer Maury Sullivan, At-Large Director
Secretary Dean Carlton, Great Lakes Region Director.

 Contact information for these and the other Board members can be found here.

2013-2014 BFA Long Jump Challenge: “Fly As Far As You Can"

The BFA Long Jump is an annual competition to promote the sport of hot air ballooning. 

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