allooning is a multi-sensory activity, from the station folks. On the other hand, no one imaged that beautiful colors to the smell of propane and 20,000 people would show up for the event. the outdoors, to the sounds of the burners, Tom Rutherford is generally thought of as being the and in the case of a balloon rally, the PA fi rst Voice of Fiesta, but in those early years he was a (public address) announcer. There’s nothing corporate balloon pilot and fl ew in the Balloon Fiesta. like being on the fi eld in person, but for those Although Tom was known for grabbing a mic and B who can’t get to Albuquerque, Balloon Fiesta Live! is explaining ballooning to anyone in earshot, there is no the next best thing. This livestream combines years of record of who the offi cial announcer(s) may have been in experience from the event’s on-fi eld announcers with the fi rst few years. The fi rst offi cial record of announcers the technology now available to provide high-quality live at Balloon Fiesta shows up in the 1980 program, listing coverage of the Balloon Fiesta for balloon enthusiasts Rutherford, Paul Douglas and Lew Witz as announcers, worldwide. with Doug Davis listed as part of the team in 1985. As you have probably read elsewhere, the very fi rst Somewhere along the line, Rutherford became a Balloon Fiesta was really a birthday party for KOB Radio. reporter and commentator for KOAT-TV’s live weekend No one seems to remember there being an announcer at broadcasts, creating a vacancy on the announce team Coronado Center in 1972, however, fi lm shot of the event on the weekends. Enter Glen Moyer, a balloonist who got suggests there was a microphone with dignitaries and his start in the sport as a TV reporter covering balloon probably some sort of announcements made by radio rallies. Starting in 1990, Moyer announced on weekends OFFICIAL PROGRAM 241