Just when it looked like day two of the 24th annual Great Mississippi River Balloon Race was going to be flightless, one hero stepped up Saturday afternoon and braved the windy skies.

After a brief struggle to inflate and launch his Curves balloon against the biting wind, pilot Gary Heavin soared into the Natchez sky sailing over the festival site delighting the crowd of onlookers.

Heavin, whose “day job” is being the founder and CEO of Curves International, was the hero of the afternoon offering festival goers their first glimpse of a hot-air balloon in flight this weekend.

While Heavin and the dozens of other pilots eventually took the skies en masse on Sunday morning, the real heroes of the balloon race often never leave the ground — regardless of weather.

The dozens of volunteers who tirelessly work thousands of man-hours to make the event a success are our behind-the-scenes heroes.

From the retiring race director Laura Godfrey and the race committee to the volunteers who helped crew balloons, each is an integral part of what makes Natchez’s biggest weekend event such a success year end and year out.

We say a hearty “thanks” to Heavin’s tenacity for not disappointing Saturday’s crowd, but especially to all of the volunteers who made sure that crowd was there and having a good, safe time before and after Heavin’s heroics.