NBC
Crew's Pages
Contents
Mark & Julie Schneider
Mark & Julie Schneider and son Logan of Papillion are related to Jim & Jenni Gunhus, but they can be convinced to crew for other pilots as well. Mark shares their story of how they got "hooked:"
Like many people, Julie and I have always been fascinated by hot air balloons. Seeing one was a very rare occurrence for myself, and Julie as well, growing up in the rural parts of Nebraska and Iowa respectively. Julie and I had never even seen a balloon up close until Jim and Jenni Gunhus got involved with the club and got a balloon of their own (Yellow Bird). Before I became a financial advisor, my previous life was automotive, manufacturing and engineering related. As such, I find the technical aspects of the balloon & crewing just as exciting as the flight itself. Julie loves crewing but had a fear of heights prior to her first flight. As you can imagine, her first flight was quite a milestone for her and an endurance test for Jim Gunhus. She spent the first half of the flight at his feet huddled down in the bottom of the basket! It was a very warm and gentle day so she eventually righted herself in the basket and enjoyed the rest of the flight...allowing plenty of space between her body and the edge of the basket of course! I've seen Jim perform several end-of-flight Champagne rituals for first time riders and I don't think I've seen anyone more appreciative of getting back to Mother Earth safely than Julie (not to mention drinking the champagne).
Logan is our special little guy. His favorite part of ballooning is two-fold: riding in the chase vehicle while talking to his dad up in the balloon on his walkie-talkies "and" eating chicken fingers and fries with ranch sauce with the entire crew when the day has ended. We have two older children as well, Dustin and Ashley, who are in college. They enjoy the balloon too but are at that age where they are much smarter than parents (just ask'em, they'll tell ya). They prefer to hang mostly with friends instead of un-cool old people like us. That said, we thoroughly enjoy crewing for Jim and Jenni Gunhus as well as getting to know all of you. Happy Ballooning!