In Remembrance

REMEMBERING

Art Swenka, Allen Tetreault & Marlon Long

REMEMBERING ART SWENKA

Four decades ago, Albuquerque businessman and philanthropist Art Swenka embraced ballooning, becoming a pilot and a respected member of the ballooning community. Characteristically, he soon applied his enormous energy and drive to supporting the sport he loved. Art served two separate stints on the Balloon Fiesta Board of Directors, becoming Vice-President in 1982 and President in 2002-2003. As President of the Albuquerque Aerostat Ascension Association through much of the 1980’s, he spearheaded a reorganization that still guides the organization today.

Art was a self-made man who pulled himself up out of childhood poverty to become a successful corporate executive, President of Nobel-Sysco, the Albuquerque branch of the food distribution giant and a legendary donor to a wide variety of causes. At Sysco, he later became executive in charge of 14 companies in the Western U.S. and Canada.

A person who combined selfdeprecating humility with a powerful sense of fun, Art never stopped giving back. He retired from ballooning in the early 2000’s and moved to the Estancia Valley, where he devoted the last years of his life to preserving the valley’s water rights and promoting a sense of community. He played a key role in founding a public radio station to serve Torrance County.

Sadly Art’s passion for life did not survive the pandemic. He succumbed to COVID-19 earlier this year, leaving behind his wife, Dixie (who he met at Balloon Fiesta), a son and a stepson, a large extended family, and legions of friends who will never forget his warmth and kindness.

REMEMBERING ALLEN TETREAULT

Earlier this year, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta lost a key member of its team with the passing of Allen Tetreault, the event’s Director of Public Safety. In his role, Allen – better known to many as “Tet” – presided over a network of local,

state, and national security agencies working together, in ways seen and unseen, to make Balloon Fiesta Park a safe place for balloon teams, concessionaires, and guests.

A graduate of Manzano High School, Allen served his country in the New Mexico Air National Guard for 30 years, with tours to Iraq in Operation Iraqi freedom, also working in Quality Assurance and as an Emergency Manager. He was also a Facilities Manager in the 150th Civil Engineering Flight. At the end of his career, he achieved his lifelong goal of obtaining the Chief Master Sergeant ranking. After serving as part of the Balloon Fiesta’s security team for many years, he became Director in 2019.

Sadly, at the too-young age of 49, Allen succumbed in March to pancreatic cancer, leaving behind his wife Laura and children, Kellen and Brooke. Allen was the son of Shirley and Al Tetreault, the Vice-President of the Balloon Fiesta Board.

REMEMBERING MARLON LONG

Photography could be defi ned as a way of seeing, and through photography, longtime Balloon Fiesta photographer Marlon Long shared his own unique vision with a generation of aeronautical afi cionados. Marlon, who was one of the Balloon Fiesta’s offi cial photographers, succumbed to a long illness in 2019. We could think of no more fi tting tribute than to share this photo, featured in the award-winning 2011 book on Balloon Fiesta The World Comes to Albuquerque: The Dream Takes Flight.