MONROE - Organizers are seeking all the community support they can rally when Monroe hosts two hot air balloon events on back-to-back weekends in June.
They're holding a public meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 19, in the Community Room at First National Bank, 1625 10th St., to discuss sponsorship and volunteer opportunities.
The inaugural U.S. Open National Championships for ballooning will run June 9-12 in Monroe, followed June 15-16 by the 27th annual Monroe Balloon Rally.
Self-described ballooning addict Maury Petrehn, who lives in Kansas City, is starting the ballooning competition with a $15,000 investment of his own money. He expects to turn the endeavor into an annual event.
"Eventually we want to make it a world championship" with additional events throughout the year in different locations, he said. A second leg of this year's competition will be held July 18-21 in Peoria, Ill.
Matt Urban, event director of the Monroe Balloon Rally, anticipates putting up about $5,000 of his own money to provide propane to pilots during the week of ballooning.
Now Urban, of Monroe, and Petrehn are looking for support. Only a handful of people showed up to an informational meeting Tuesday morning, but the duo is hopeful about garnering support over the next month from locals.
"Everybody loves ballooning. It's a beautiful sport," Petrehn said, adding that his goal with the competition is to get as much community involvement as possible, with the aim to actively teach about the sport instead of simply hosting passive entertainment.
Balloon pilots steer by seeking out and riding on "pancake layers of wind," said Urban.
"We have nothing we can use other than the wind," explained Petrehn. "We float with the wind. We can go up and down like an elevator." His scoring method for the competition requires pilots to perform baggie drops, GPS goals and other flying challenges.
"It's kind of like a sailboat race and sinking a 5-mile putt in a target the size of a dime. We can literally drive a balloon to a dime," Petrehn said.
Urban and Petrehn are looking for businesses and individuals to sponsor the event. Incentives include fly-away and tethered balloon flights from the Green County Fairgrounds.
Volunteers are also needed to help with logistics and labor. Tammy Hasse-McGuire, vice president of the Monroe Balloon Rally, said volunteering would make a great family activity, and children are welcome to join.
More information is available at open-championship.com, monroeballoonrally.com or by calling (913) 744-7170.
They're holding a public meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 19, in the Community Room at First National Bank, 1625 10th St., to discuss sponsorship and volunteer opportunities.
The inaugural U.S. Open National Championships for ballooning will run June 9-12 in Monroe, followed June 15-16 by the 27th annual Monroe Balloon Rally.
Self-described ballooning addict Maury Petrehn, who lives in Kansas City, is starting the ballooning competition with a $15,000 investment of his own money. He expects to turn the endeavor into an annual event.
"Eventually we want to make it a world championship" with additional events throughout the year in different locations, he said. A second leg of this year's competition will be held July 18-21 in Peoria, Ill.
Matt Urban, event director of the Monroe Balloon Rally, anticipates putting up about $5,000 of his own money to provide propane to pilots during the week of ballooning.
Now Urban, of Monroe, and Petrehn are looking for support. Only a handful of people showed up to an informational meeting Tuesday morning, but the duo is hopeful about garnering support over the next month from locals.
"Everybody loves ballooning. It's a beautiful sport," Petrehn said, adding that his goal with the competition is to get as much community involvement as possible, with the aim to actively teach about the sport instead of simply hosting passive entertainment.
Balloon pilots steer by seeking out and riding on "pancake layers of wind," said Urban.
"We have nothing we can use other than the wind," explained Petrehn. "We float with the wind. We can go up and down like an elevator." His scoring method for the competition requires pilots to perform baggie drops, GPS goals and other flying challenges.
"It's kind of like a sailboat race and sinking a 5-mile putt in a target the size of a dime. We can literally drive a balloon to a dime," Petrehn said.
Urban and Petrehn are looking for businesses and individuals to sponsor the event. Incentives include fly-away and tethered balloon flights from the Green County Fairgrounds.
Volunteers are also needed to help with logistics and labor. Tammy Hasse-McGuire, vice president of the Monroe Balloon Rally, said volunteering would make a great family activity, and children are welcome to join.
More information is available at open-championship.com, monroeballoonrally.com or by calling (913) 744-7170.