Hot Air Balloons

This past Saturday, my wife Rita and I have the privilege of taking our first ride in a hot air balloon as part of the Northwest Art and Air Festival.  Rita and I had skydived together a couple of years ago and enjoyed that experience immensely, but the hot air balloon offered different - and perhaps deeper - kind of experience that neither of us will soon forget.

One of the big differences was the ability to converse while in the air - to be able to reflect on the experience with the people we were sharing the ride with us.  And so I got to know Randall - our pilot - who, once he learned that I was LBCC's presented, shared with me that he had no less than three Associates degrees from one of our sister schools, Portland Community College.  So he and I talked a lot about the opportunities that our respective educations had afforded us and he shared that, while he had for a time considered going on to complete a Bachelors degree, his three community college degrees (including one in aircraft operations and service) had provided all the opportunities he needed.... including the doorway into his business that rebuilds hot air balloons!

I thanked him for the ride, and he thanked me for the work we do as community colleges.