CaptJeff

My name is Jeff Thompson.  I have been a hot air balloon pilot my entire life.  I actually had a pilots license before I had a drivers license.  I have been ranked as one of the top 20 pilots in the U.S. for several decades.  I have held regional champion and state champion titles many times.  Many years ago I wanted to create a place online where other pilots like myself could share information and files amongst themselves while also providing the public with information about balloon pilots, flying balloons and finding festivals and services across the country.  That was when I found the Invision Software.  While I am not a developer and barely read HTML I could use the software to create a place for all things related to Hot Air Ballooning.  That is how the site HotAirBalloonist.com was created. 

I manage the site myself and try to learn as much as I can about how the software works but over time there have been many upgrades to the system and each time it has become harder for me to manage and learn all the new stuff.  I waited more than two years before I upgraded to version 3.0 and then even more time before I went to 4.0.  The site has not been upgraded in over three years because many of the enhancements that I enjoy would not work with the new version of the software.

In 2020 I suffered a Hemorrhagic stroke.  I spent 5 days in a coma and when I woke up I had no idea where I was and what had happened.  It took my wife nearly 3 weeks to put the pieces together and help me understand what had happened.  I was lucky to be alive.  I am the first to tell you that a stroke is no joke.  It took nearly 6 months before  I could get out of bed and function even close to normally.  I still have many lingering issues.

On my 1 year anniversary of my stroke our 7 year old son Noah was diagnosed with Leukemia.  We as a family began another medical battle.  He has finished his treatment and is currently in remission.  Here is a link to a video I created for him when he hit maintenance. 

The HotAirBalloonist.com site has malware on it somewhere.  I have been having trouble with it for some time now.  I do not know how to keep it going but I must somehow.  The site has actually been given two Directors Awards from the Balloon Federation of America for its value to the balloon community.  I spend many hours trying to keep it alive. 

I appreciate all the help I have been given over the years from the Invision community.  You all have been very kind to me and tolerant of my ignorance to how things work.  I could not have done this without you!