About the GMVAAA Balloon Club
Club History
The Greater Mesilla Valley Aerostat Ascension Association is a not-for-profit hot air balloon social organization that was founded in the early 1980s to support and promote ballooning in the Mesilla Valley around Las Cruces, southern New Mexico, and beyond. The club gives members (the pilots, their families, crew members, and best of all, great friends!) a common bond with which to share the sport and each other's lives. The club has grown and shrunk over the decades, depending on membership, balloon ownership of the membership, and the economy. Currently, we have about forty paid family or single memberships, with members of all walks of life. We have private and commercial pilots of all ages too, with our youngest at 42 (the webmaster), who is also our youngest commercial pilot. We have awesome crew members of all ages as well, with many seeing their children and grandchildren enjoying the sport alongside them.
Importance of Crew & Pilot Teamwork
Hot air ballooning is a team sport. It takes a crew and a pilot to set up, fly and land safely. If you like getting high legally, there is nothing like it. There is a mix of excitement, challenge, beauty, and fun with friends. When the balloon gently lifts off you don’t know where it will land. All you know is that you will be amazed and awed when you touch the ground again. It's so neat to be quietly (mostly) floating hundreds (or thousands) of feet above the ground, moving by the speed of the wind. And afterwards there is tailgating with food, drink (and usually champagne) with family and friends; all before 10 or 11 in the morning.
Club Officers
Below is a list of the 2024 officers for the Greater Mesilla Valley Aerostat Ascension Association:
Below is a list of the 2024 officers for the Greater Mesilla Valley Aerostat Ascension Association:
President:
Vice President: Treasurer: Secretary & Editor: Webmaster: |
Lance Smith
Christine Casillas Janette Stone Joan Smith Brian Smith |
Club Membership
If you are interested in hot air ballooning, and would like to learn more about our exciting sport, let us encourage you to join the Greater Mesilla Valley Aerostat Ascension Association as an official member. Membership is open to any person interested in or enthusiastic about hot air ballooning, and balloon issues in the greater Mesilla Valley, New Mexico. As stated on our Home page, we have members all across the United States, and you don't even have to live near the Mesilla Valley to be a member. Membership is not mandatory to join our sport, but we would enjoy having you at our meetings, get you involved with our club events, and have fun together!
What You Get as a Member:
Annual Member Dues, Paid in January or February: $20 for family, $17 for individuals!
What You Get as a Member:
- The monthly club newsletter, the Champagne Tales, via e-mail
- Monthly club meeting information (where, when, etc)
- E-mail or phone updates about upcoming club fly-outs and events
- More personalized training as a regular crew member on one of our balloon crews
- Easier access to our local commercial pilots for training as a new hot air balloon student pilot, if so desired
Annual Member Dues, Paid in January or February: $20 for family, $17 for individuals!
GMVAAA Quarterly Club Meetings
Our balloon club now has monthly meetings, on the third Tuesday of each month, to keep up with the members' flights, club events, rallies, and anything ballooning. If you want to join us at our meetings to learn more about ballooning or the club, fill out our Contact form, and we'll let you know the details.
Next Monthly Club Meeting: Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Contact Us to find out where and when!
Contact Us to find out where and when!
The Champagne Tales - The GMVAAA Club Newsletter
We compile a newsletter called the Champagne Tales, which has been produced since the club began in the early 1980s. Our editors compile the minutes from our meetings, and also share share interesting news or tidbits submitted by our members. The Tales is only available to members, so join our club and check it out!
Archives of the Champagne Tales in PDF format are available to club members below on a password-protected page, organized by year. Please ask the webmaster (Brian) for the username and password, if you didn't receive it via e-mail. Thanks!
Archives of the Champagne Tales in PDF format are available to club members below on a password-protected page, organized by year. Please ask the webmaster (Brian) for the username and password, if you didn't receive it via e-mail. Thanks!
Club Members' Balloons
Click here to see a gallery of the hot air balloons owned by the members in our club, see pilot and crew information, and see where the balloons normally fly.
Club Fly-Outs and Events
We get together when possible for weekend (Saturday and/or Sunday mornings) club fly-outs (which sometime coincide with local balloon rallies). We also participate in rallies in Las Cruces, Deming, Anthony, Artesia, Roswell, Gallup, and of course the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. Everyone is invited to join in the fun with our crews, beautiful balloons, and skilled pilots! Check out our Club Events page for more information about our fly-outs, local balloon rallies, and other club events.
Club Photo Gallery
Click here to see the Club's Photo Gallery of past club and balloon events.
GMVAAA Club Brochure
We wrote an informative brochure to quickly let people know about hot air ballooning, the balloon club, and how to get involved. Download a PDF copy of our Club Brochure here.
Other Balloon Clubs
The Arizona Balloon Club has a neat Altitude Calculator, inputting balloon & temperature characteristics. Thanks to Phillip for the link back to us!
The About Our Club & Club Events pages have been updated, so check them out! Thanks!
Thanks, and have a beautiful day, and soft landings!