Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 1980)
id V I (JNnohnr Sharon Broun ties a bunch of balloons while Rusty Fenton consults a map. Even better than flowers... By JENNIFER AFFLERBACH Battalion Staff The idea to start a business deliv ering balloons in College Station just “popped” into Rusty Fenton’s mind one day last summer. Now he and his partner, Sharon Broun, are thinking about expand ing, not just balloons, but the entire business. The two Texas A&M University juniors, who started Bunch-A- B’loons in September, are tempor arily operating out of Fenton’s apartment, but plan to be in an office by spring. When they started their balloon business, they pictured an informal operation, recalled Fenton, an en vironmental design major from Houston. “We thought we’d just run it out of a shoe box,” he said, “like a kid selling lemonade.” But instead they wound up with an assumed name certificate, a partnership agreement, a Texas sales and use tax permit... “It makes you hate bureaucra cy,” Fenton said. They financed their business with a loan from a bank in Houston that “thought it was a good idea,” Fenton said. “We had no income, no credit, no collateral,” said Broun, a manage ment major from Dallas. “So we had to succeed or else,” said Fenton. “It gave us a little in centive.” The two Aggie entrepreneurs will deliver the balloons anywhere in Bryan-College Station. Well, almost anywhere. They did decline to make a deliv ery amid the throng at a Texas Aggie midnight yell practice. At a rate of $10 a dozen (plus tax), they will fill the balloons with helium and attach a card with the requested message. Then they will load the bunch into the back seat of Fenton’s car, drive through town trying to keep the balloons in the back seat of Fenton’s car, and final ly, bestow them on the unsuspect ing individual. Reactions range from laughter to tears, from excited screams to embarrassed silence. “Usually they don’t know what to say,” Broun said. “They take them and they’re quiet.” Onlookers, on the other hand, are seldom at a loss for words. Typical comments are: “Those are neat.” “Where’d you get those?” “I want some balloons.” “If I give you my boyfriend’s phone number, will you call him and tell him to send me some?” When he delivered some to a Texas A&M student in a classroom, Fenton said, the professor re marked, “If she’s not here, I’ll take them.” And when making a delivery in the Sterling Evans Library, Fenton “had a whole entourage following me through the library to see who they went to.” Most of their customers are Texas A&M students. In addition, “the majority are ordered by girls for other girls or for guys,” Fenton said. "Balloons are something you can send to a guy without being mushy,” Broun said. Fenton cited other advantages of sending balloons. “Balloons are unique. They’re cheaper than flowers, and you don’t have to water them.” Birthdays are the most popular occasions for balloon orders, but they also get requests for thank yous, get wells, congratulations, good lucks, and I love yous, to name a few. “One girl sent an order to two girlfriends thanking them for getting her a date with a guy,” Broun said. Fenton mentioned a delivery he made to a professor at the veterin ary school: “I think it was from a student trying to get an A.” A delivery made to Duncan Din ing Hall in the middle of dinner was for a cadet who was about to get quadded, Broun said. The card read: "Hope you enjoy your shower.” Along with delivering to the apart ments and dormitories of Texas A&M students, they have appeared bearing balloons at local busines ses, residences, and St. Joseph Hospital. They are already considering hir ing part-time help, Fenton said. They also plan to extend Bunch-A- B’loons to the college communities of Waco and Lubbock. No squabbles have arisen out of the partnership so far, but just to be on the safe side, they had half of their business cards printed with Fenton’s name first and half with Broun’s first. Above: First the balloons must be inflated, which is done in Fenton’s apart ment. Below: Bunch-A- B’loons prepares for a de livery; a bundle of bal loons must be put in the back of Fenton’s car. Photos by Pat O’Malley | MSG OUTDOOR / %, • f V Blocker Trant, I ! RECREATION i EQUIPMENT RENTAL j Phone:845-4511 tyljmA § Sirloin Strip • Filet • Rib Eye • Shrimp Scampi • Prime Rib • Rainbow Trout • Top Sirloin^Stuffed Flounder«T-Bone*Quail \ ' RESTAURANT HOURS K Hours: Monday 8 a.m.-12 noon canoes Tuesday 12 noon-5 p.m. backpacks Thursday 1 p.m.-6 p.m. stoves Friday 1 p.m.-6 p.m. * en * s lanterns and so much more! Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-lO p.m. Saturday 6-11 p.m. Daily Lunch Special $3.95 Daily Dinner Special $7.95 TWO % PRICE HAPPY HOURS 1 Equipment rental is open to students, faculty and staff of TAMU. I Reservations may be made up to two weeks in advance of rental i date. A reservation list is located by MSC Outdoor Recreation II cubicle in room 216 MSC. Equipment not reserved is available on a i first come, first serve basis. Call during rental hours (845-4511) to j check on availability of any item. i Monday-Friday 4-6:30 p.m. — 10 p.m. to close 815 Harvey Rd. (Highway 30) College Station, Texas 77840 693-1991 All equipment is picked up & returned behind Grove Screen. Yes! We do take reservations! < ^