John Johnson File Photo/Hila Herald: Balloons were launched at last year’s Gila Valley New Year Balloon Extravaganza. The Graham County Chamber of Commerce will not fund this year’s event, but local hot air balloon company AZ Air Ventures has pledged to keep the event going.

AZ Air Ventures continues the event

“We’ve been doing this for years, and we plan to continue.”

Greg Lindsey AZ Air Ventures

John Johnson

john johnson news@gmail.com

Safford – On a crisp winter morning in late December 2021, 13 balloons took off from Ruth Powell Elementary School fields. This flight was the first and final flight of the 2021 Gila Valley New Year’s Balloon Extravaganza. Now a local hot air balloon company is trying to make sure it’s not the only flight.

Hosted by the Graham County Chamber of Commerce, the event brought 20 hot air balloon pilots to Gila Valley. Unfortunately, weather conditions limited the balloon flight to its first trip, and the extravaganza was not a financial success.

The Celebration was born from the minds of Greg and Susan Lindsay AZ Air Ventureslaunched the Safford Balloon Extravaganza over the 2020/21 New Year’s Eve weekend.

“Over the past few years, some of our pilot friends have come over for holiday weekends and flown with us. We decided to invite them to create the Safford Balloon Extravaganza,” said Susan Lindsay.

The first Safford Balloon Extravaganza brought seven pilots from Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Indiana, traveling with their families and crew, to Gila Valley. The group came together to enjoy the Arizona sunshine and fly community members who wanted to help the crew. “We had great weather and flew all four days. We also had a drive-by balloon glow for a community along 20th Street. We planned to continue the tradition,” says Greg Lindsey. He said.

After the initial event, several community members and some city council members who were excited to see balloons in the valley began contacting Mr. and Mrs. Lindsay, who were excited about the balloons coming to the valley. . According to Lindseys, there was an interest in what it took to make this a larger annual event, similar to what is currently being held at Pinetop/Lakeside or Lake Havasu. The Graham County Chamber of Commerce also saw value in hosting a large community event and wanted to support and expand the Extravaganza. Starting in 2021, he changed the name from Safford Balloon Extravaganza to Gila Valley Balloon Extravaganza and New Year’s Eve Block Party as plans for the 2022 event progressed, with plans to involve Gila Valley as much as possible. . The idea was to throw a big New Year’s Eve party on 14th Street. This included Bands, Vendors and Balloon Glow, providing not only a great community event but also a source of income to help offset costs.

As balloon masters, the Lindseys coordinated upcoming pilots and balloon details, while the Chamber of Commerce coordinated surrounding events, including block party planning, vendor coordination, sponsorship searches, and community support searches. rice field. The Chamber of Commerce encountered some hurdles when trying to coordinate a block party, so instead of a party, a glow at Mount Graham Golf Course was planned for New Year’s Eve, as well as a glow at the Pima Rodeo Grounds. rice field.

During the 2021-2022 Extravaganza weekend, 20 pilots and approximately 75 crew members traveled from Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, California, and Arizona to Gila Valley. Unfortunately, we were also hit by several days of severe rainstorms that weekend. On the first day of the event, all pilots flew the entire valley from Safford Landing to Klondike Road. On the following days, the rain, wind and mud conditions prevented the balloon from even inflating. On Saturday night, when the rain stopped, the pilots lined the Home Depot parking lot with baskets and lit burners for the community.

Following the event, plans were set in motion in January to continue the event for the New Year’s weekend in 2022-23, possibly with up to 30 pilots. As the year progressed, Mr. and Mrs. Lindsey secured appointments from pilots who were all scheduled to return, and created a waiting list of pilots they hoped would be invited if the event expanded. After the January meeting, the meeting will start again in August, and the Chamber of Commerce has shared plans for the event. This included an already booked band and his party downtown on New Year’s Eve. After her two meetings in August, Mr. and Mrs. Lindsey received an email from the Chamber of Commerce president informing them that the Extravaganza had been canceled indefinitely.

Graham County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Vance Bryce recently recommended to the Chamber of Commerce Events and Finance Committee that the chamber cancel the celebration, according to a news release.

The Chamber of Commerce said in a news release that while sponsorship and product sales generated about $11,240 in revenue, expenses totaled about $39,169, leaving a deficit of about $27,927. According to the release, the Chamber of Commerce’s communication strategy with sponsors, vendor agreements, and funding plans weren’t enough to make the event a success.

“The business model didn’t work,” said Chamber of Commerce president Reed Richens. “There is no event where we lose so much money.

The release says the Chamber of Commerce board and staff are disappointed, but understand the decision to stop sponsoring the event.

“I’m certainly learning a lot about where I failed leading this team,” Bryce said. “I didn’t have a plan B for bad weather and didn’t understand the lack of funding for the event. The model we were using to pay for the event was seriously flawed and I would recommend canceling the event.” It was clear that we needed to. First year events are always challenging when it comes to paying all the bills. I couldn’t come up with a plan that was different enough.”

The Chamber of Commerce implemented procedural changes to create a more sustainable event, including a “significantly enhanced budgeting process, better sponsor communication plans, clear and binding vendor agreements, Including incentives for Chamber staff to raise funds to create great events for all.” Hira Valley and beyond

For Lindseys, Extravaganza’s goal has always been to bring people to the Gila Valley and share the joy of hot air ballooning with their community and neighboring communities. “We were thrilled when the Chamber of Commerce got involved because the goal was to create a fun event for our community while also increasing tourism,” said Susan Lindsay.

The Lindsays are disappointed by the last-minute notice that the Chamber of Commerce is withdrawing its support, but they have no intention of letting the Extravaganza die. “We’ve been doing this for years and we plan to keep doing it,” said Greg Lindsay.

To keep this a community event, the Lindsays are looking for event sponsors. “We need to provide hotel rooms for pilots and propane for them to fly and shine. That requires some investment from the community,” he said. increase.

Lindseys hopes that the Gila Valley will not only encourage locals to stay in town for holiday weekends by offering something fun, but will also be able to create events that draw large crowds to the Gila Valley. increase.

“At the Pinetop/Lakeside event, local hotels sold out three months before the event,” says Susan Lindsay. ” They draw people from all over Arizona. The Gila Valley community has the opportunity to create community events like New Year’s block parties and include balloons as one of the attractions, but that has to be something the local government wants to do. We would like to make a contribution by having balloons participate in such events. The Lindseys attend similar events in small communities around the country. “We know how this affects smaller communities,” Susan said.

“While we are very disappointed with this last minute notice, the crew met last night and hopes to help the pilot return to Gila Valley for Extravaganza,” said Susan Lindsey. As far as the amount of money reportedly lost by the company, the Lindsays said they had no comment as they were not involved in what the Chamber of Commerce spent or brought in. The Lindsays said the balloons were sold. He said he needed to find a sponsor to get it back, but he didn’t need as much money as the chamber reported. So if you are interested in making this event a success, please contact Greg or Susan Lindsey at info@AzAirVentures.com: “Help us make Gila Valley the best place to visit and live. I just want to do it,” they added.

The mission of the Graham County Chamber of Commerce is to improve the quality of life for all in the Gila Valley through connection, leadership and tourism. The Chamber of Commerce and Safford Lions Club will host a popular Salsafest on September 23rd and 24th at Safford’s Firemen’s Park in front of City Hall.

AZ Air Ventures contributed to this report.