Troy Apprill, CBA®
Balloonville Productions

Balloonville Productions celebrated its 20th anniversary in the balloon business in 2006. Troy’s retail store is recognized as a unique party shopping experience complete with balloon delivery and specializing in balloon décor. Troy is thrilled to return to Ballooniversity® again this year. The 2001 Designer of the Year Award Winner (IBAC) has also been an instructor at IBAC, Rica Festa in Brazil, and JBAN in Japan. He brings an enthusiastic attitude to sharing his new concepts with students. Prepare to witness the power of balloons in a new and energizing way!

Wynn Bell, CBA®
Final Touch Balloons & Event Décor

Wynn Bell and his wife, Lindy, have been in the balloon décor industry for over 19 years, and are fondly known within the industry as “Wynn and Lindy Bell.” Their expertise extends to all phases of balloon work: Wedding Décor, Corporate Décor, Sculpture Design, Sculpture Competitions, and education at both the local and national levels. Wynn is especially adept at working with beginning and intermediate level balloon artists. His work as an instructor at IBAC (International Balloon Arts Convention) for several years has included both lecture and hands-on classes. If you attend one of his classes, be prepared to learn techniques and tricks that will improve your abilities as a balloon artist. Begin a new phase of your balloon education with Wynn’s classes. And remember your camera . . .

Linda Bruce, CBA®
Pioneer® Balloon Company

Linda Bruce is a popular speaker with firsthand knowledge of operating a balloon business! Since 1981, Linda has been teaching balloon classes internationally, as well as throughout the USA, and is best known for her profitable ideas featuring Qualatex® balloons. A recipient of the industry’s prestigious Crystal Award, Linda has been a Certified Balloon ArtistSM since the program began. Her designs and articles have appeared in numerous floral publications and she is a regular contributor to Balloon Images magazine. Linda is featured in several educational videos and the updated Qualatex Balloon NetworkSM DVDs. Currently the retail education manager for Pioneer® Balloon Company, you can see Linda’s creative balloon designs at www.qualatex.com.

Diane Burton, CBA®
Balloonville Productions

Diane began the new millennium celebrating a newfound enthusiasm for working with balloons. She started working with Troy Apprill, CBA®, at Balloonville Productions in 1999. Diane attended her first IBAC in 2002, where she achieved her CBA® and enjoyed her first competition experience. During IBAC 2004, she was a substitute instructor for the Fun Balloon Games class, where she connected with the true emotion of assisting others in the balloon community. In October 2005, she attended The Qualatex® Event in Amsterdam and brought back some great ideas and techniques.

Cindy Derrick, CBA®
Brite Ideas

Cindy has been in the balloon décor and delivery business since 1987. She has served as an instructor, a contributor to industry publications, and on the production staff for IBAC since 1988. She operates an event décor company, consulting and managing events for other professionals from coast to coast. Cindy is also a charter member of QBN®.

On Guest, CBA®
burton + BURTON™

On was burton + BURTON’S™ first designer and has been creating unique designs for our catalogs and advertisements for over 20 years. She has been a CBA® since 1994 and has conducted classes and seminars nationwide. Full of energy, she makes the classroom fun and exciting while sharing her creative ideas.

Gina Hagan
Gift Works

Gina Hagan is the owner and lead designer for Gift Works at The Joy Shoppe, a Hallmark and specialty gift shop. She is the 2005-06 national gift basket Designer of the Year. In 2003, her shop earned the small business of the year award from the local chamber of commerce in recognition of sales and service to the community. She is a frequent speaker at gift shows around the country, where she teaches gift basket design.

Bill J. Harper, AIFD, AAF, FAM
Consultant

Bill J. Harper’s role as teacher, designer, and innovator has, by invitation, allowed him to participate in numerous workshops and exhibitions throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. His skills at teaching floristry won him the reputation of being one of the finest instructors in the country. Bill is a member of the American Institute of Floral Design (AIFD), the American Academy of Floriculture (AAF), and the Floral Academy of Missouri (FAM). Bill was a member of the team that designed and coordinated floral décor for the rededication of the Statue of Liberty. He has designed for presidential inaugurations and was one of the national designers from the U.S. invited to the White House to decorate the executive mansion for Christmas.

In addition to the numerous awards and recognitions he has received, Bill was presented with the Distinguished Service Award by AIFD in 1996 and was honored as a fellow of the organization.

Treb Heining, CBA®
Light Up Balloon Stick, Co., Inc.

Treb Heining is the man who invented packed balloon garland/arches and started the first commercialized professional balloon décor in the late ‘70s. He is renowned the world over for producing and directing elaborate spectator/media events, creating awesome corporate and private party displays, balloon vending operations, and setting balloon release records. Treb got his start in 1969 selling balloons at the original Disneyland® in California. He has been at the forefront of an industry he is credited pioneering for almost 40 years.

His credits include four Guinness World Records, two Olympic Games opening and closing ceremonies, 18 Super Bowl halftime shows, six Republican/Democratic National Conventions, more than 3,000 corporate and celebrity parties and producing the special effects for the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball Drop for the past 16 years in New York City. An entertaining speaker and showman, he blends experience and motivation with valuable, practical ideas.

Jan Iiams, CBA®
Betallic Balloons, LLC

Jan Iiams, recipient of the prestigious IBAC Crystal award, has been honored for competition designs and has been a part of the balloon industry for over 20 years. She has a broad base of successful business and design experience and is a popular and well-known international teacher. She regularly contributes to several industry publications and her articles and designs appear on numerous industry Web sites. She has served on leading educational advisory boards, has been a board member of the International Balloon Association, is a member of the National Speakers Association, and has been featured in Conwin’s Masterpiece Series and many other industry videos, including seasonal design videos for Hallmark corporate. Jan is known for her original techniques for designing highly sellable arrangements for all types of businesses that sell balloons. She consistently showcases a fresh palette of designs and innovative techniques in her very entertaining and motivational presentations.

Steven Jones, CBA®
Aeration Decorators

Steven Jones first entered the world of balloons as a twister in 1997. A little over a year later, Steven ventured into décor and realized that these two elements of the industry, while fundamentally different, could really complement one another and create dynamic designs. Since then, Steven has received numerous awards for his efforts and designs, including burton + BURTON’S™ 2005 Designer of the Year. His unique approach to “deco-twisting” has afforded him international recognition as both an artist and an instructor. His work and writings have been featured in Balloon Images magazine, Balloons & Parties magazine, Florists’ Review magazine, balloonhq.com, and most recently Betallic’s new bGallery Web site. Steven is also the producer of Balloon Town USA, one of the country’s largest annual public balloon events, and AeraDeco Video, a line of instructional videos aimed at both entertainers and decorators.

Talmage McLaurin, AIFD
Florists’ Review
Super Floral Retailing

Talmage McLaurin is the publisher of Florists’ Review, the floral industry’s oldest independent magazine. He has been with the magazine for over 15 years and is responsible for its editorial and creative endeavors. His career in the industry began in a family-owned floral business.

Talmage’s work is featured in several books from Florists’ Review, including Winning Bouquet Combinations (2006), 101 Great Displays (2005), Christmas Traditions (2004), and many more. He was inducted into the American Institute of Floral Design in 1988 and has presented three national symposiums. In 2004, Talmage was the chairman of Prairie School, AIFD’s national symposium in St. Louis.

Jodie Norris, CBA®
bezonline.com

Jodie is a qualified lecturer in both the balloon artistry and floristry fields. Throughout her 13-year balloon and floral career, Jodie has been involved in many aspects of the industry, from running a home-based business to working in retail stores to teaching balloon artistry and floristry at a leading London college in City & Guild courses. Jodie has traveled the world representing Qualatex®, Pioneer®, and Conwin. Over the years, Jodie has been presented with numerous awards for her design work and teaching abilities. Her accolades include: Decorator of the Year, IPHS 1998 & 2002, several first place awards at IPHS and IBAC for her Non-round Sculpture work, Best Training Provider 2004, and first for multi-balloon/large non-round at Millennium Jam 2006. Also Jodie & Dee White jointly won Designer of the Year at Ballooniversity® in 2006!

Royal Sorell, CBA®
Royal Events & Entertainment

A professional performance artist since 1978, Royal Sorell’s balloon art has appeared on national television in the United States, Japan, Europe, Brazil, and Colombia. His awards include International Balloon Entertainer of the Year for 1998. Royal co-designed the World’s Largest Non-round Balloon Sculpture (40,781 balloons). Royal was most recently featured on Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! in February 2003. His professional programs include: balloon caricatures, balloon art, magic, mime, clowning, general mayhem & chaos for stage performances, corporate events, birthdays, and family entertainment.

Guido Verhoef, CBA®
www.theartofballoons.com
www.balloonravers.nl

Guido Verhoef, born in the Netherlands, attended the European School for Performing Arts and Bont’s International Clown school. He started working as a clown and balloon artist in 1993. In 1995 he founded his own entertainment company, Manifold. The company specializes is training artists in the Netherlands, France, Spain, Belgium, and Germany.

In 2002 he expanded his company to include innovative and unique balloon decoration. Manifold’s décor encompasses everything from basic elements to very high end décor and are designed for large company events and shows. Guido’s talent is offering the complete package to his clients. He covers all the elements the event needs to be a success. To date, he has arranged over 4,000 performances, most of which include balloon décor. A significant part of Guido’s décor work is done with LINK-O-LOONS®, and he has built a reputation for being the innovator in new concepts with LINK-O-LOONS®. Besides his work as creative director, every year Guido enjoys doing over 200 performances and workshops himself.

Dee White, CBA®
bezonline.com

Originally studying as a graphic designer, and being highly creative, Dee has now been entertaining with balloons for the past 15 years. During these years, Dee ran a balloon & entertainment business in Ireland before moving to England. He has now dedicated his work to helping and teaching others within the balloon & party industry through bezonline.com and twistingonoline.com and is a part of Qualatex® and the Conwin Design Team. Dee’s balloon creations have won him many industry awards over the years. His accolades include first place in Large Sculpture IBAC, first place for multi-balloon large non-round at Millennium Jam 2006. Jodie & Dee jointly won Designer of the Year at Ballooniversity® in July 2006! Teaching all over the world and sharing his knowledge is something Dee is very passionate about as he loves sharing his skills with others. His teaching methods are very flamboyant and exciting . . . be sure to attend.

Peggy Williams
Premium Balloon Accessories®

Peggy has worked in the balloon industry for well over two decades. Starting her company, Balloon Specialist, in the early 1980s, Peggy realized the need for education. Her vast experience with a retail balloon shop, wholesale balloon businesses, and the mass market enables her to offer a vast range of knowledge that is sure to enhance any business. Approaching life with enthusiasm, Peggy will make certain you leave her class with a smile on your face, ideas in your notebook, and the ability to fill your pockets with extra bucks.