As defined in our club constitution:
The Topeka Balloon Club was formed by C. R. "Chuck" Tantillo, Chuck Klein, and Gene Brown as an effect of the First Annual Great Plains Huff & Puff Balloon Rally held in downtown Topeka on Father's Day weekend, June 17-21, 1976. At that time the rally consisted of a dozen or so balloons from Kansas and Missouri. With Chuck, Chuck, and Gene being among only a handful of balloon pilots in the Topeka area at that time, a year later that number had doubled, and local interest in the sport grew rapidly over the next several years with the Club referring to itself as "The International Association for the Advancement of Hot Air Ballooning in Kansas". At some point late in 1978, for reasons unknown to me, the Club changed it's name to The Great Plains Balloon Club and has since stuck to it's roots by promoting ballooning in Northeast Kansas with several core members still active in the Club.
The Club's main task each year is organizing one of Topeka's favorite and longest running free to the public annual events, the Huff 'n Puff. We also have monthly meetings discussing the current issues at hand and catching up with other members that we may not have seen in a while, especially when the Kansas weather has been uncooperative. We are a close-knit group that has produced many life long friendships and we are always looking for adventurous souls who would like to join in in the fun. If you are interested in joining the Club or would like any information on crewing or ballooning in general, please send us an email.
