ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – On the eve of the 53rd Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, the late Albuquerque balloon pilot Richard Abruzzo was honored with one of the most prestigious awards in ballooning. To this day, he is remembered as a local ballooning legend and a man who helped shape the Balloon Fiesta into the international phenomenon it is.

Cameron Wall, a fellow balloonist, shared the following memory about Abruzzo: "More what he gave me was just the idea that you can live an adventurous life and make a living doing it."

Abruzzo was a pilot like no other. He was a five-time winner of the America's Challenge Gas Balloon Race and has received numerous accolades, including two Balloon Fiesta key grabs. He also won the National Gas Balloon Championship in 1994 and the Gordon Be

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