NATCHEZ — When balloonmeister Bill Cunningham congratulated the 2016 Spirit of Steckler award winner, the longtime Great Mississippi River Balloon Race volunteer said it was “very undeserved.”

“I said, ‘What planet do you live on?’” Cunningham said. “Chris Trippe has made it happen time and time again.”

Named in the honor of the late Dr. David Steckler, the award is given annually to a balloon race volunteer who exhibits Steckler’s dedication to the betterment of the balloon race and the community.

Trippe said he never thought of himself as someone who was in the same league of volunteer as Steckler.

“It is very humbling,” he said. “I had no expectation of it at all. Dr. Steckler was always such a class act.”

Growing up five doors down from the Steckler home, Trippe said he knows the family well and that makes the honor even more special.

“From age 6 to 16, I spent the summers at the Steckler house,” he said. “They are just great people.”

Trippe has done it all for the balloon race — crewing balloons, owning a balloon, mowing the grass, building targets, bike and balloon biathlon, and he is even a student pilot of the Daytripper.

“I’ve got a few hours in,” he said. “I’m just easing into it.”

Cunningham and Karen Kent have been training him to fly, and he’s also crewed for them.

“We used to take forever to get out there and get the target box squared in the right place,” Cunningham said. “After one year, he comes in with three 200-foot tapes, and we got it squared in about 20 minutes.

“He figured it out. I said, ‘You didn’t tell me you were a math major in school. Where?’ He said, ‘Natchez.’ I said, ‘Stop, nobody is going to believe that.’”

Trippe said he got involved in the festival and race because his friends were doing it. He keeps doing it for all the friends he has made in the sport and now for other reasons.

“I just love the sport, and this event is so good for Natchez — the community and businesses,” he said. “We hope to get another 30 years of it.

“So many wonderful events have faded into obscurity because there were not enough people on the line. We want to see it continue, and to do that, you have to get involved.”