The Topeka Balloon Club was formed by pilots C.R. "Chuck" Tantillo, Chuck Klein after the First Annual Great Plains Huff 'n Puff Balloon Rally held in downtown Topeka on Father's Day weekend in 1976.

At that time the rally consisted 18 balloons from Kansas and Missouri. The Chucks were among only a handful of balloon pilots in the Topeka area but they soon increased their numbers and local interest in the sport grew rapidly over the next several years with the club referring to itself as "The International Association for the Advancement of Hot Air Ballooning in Kansas".  Late in 1978 the club changed it's name to The Great Plains Balloon Club and has since stuck to it's roots by promoting ballooning in Northeast Kansas earning the distinction of being one of the longest continually running balloon clubs in the country with several original members still playing active roles.