We are now less than 4 weeks away from the rally, and this is to let you know how things are progressing. The Supplementary Regs for the 2012 rally are now final. The preliminary plan called for an 8-stage rally, as I said in my first e-mail, but the final schedule for the event calls for 7 stages. So the planned working day will only be slightly longer than in previous years. We have not set the final time for the worker meeting on the day of the rally, but you should plan on arriving at HQ and registering to sign waivers, receive wrist band, and acquire your worker kit as early as possible on the Saturday morning. In future e-mails, I will be letting you know exact times for the opening of worker registration and the time of the worker meeting. There will be 2 or 3 more msgs before the event, and workers will receive your final assignments in those e-mails.

If there are any HAMs who are prepared to help during recce on Friday evening, please let me know. This consists of monitoring traffic on the stage road for a couple of hours while competitors drive the road to make pace notes. There will also be a recce pass on Saturday morning, and if anyone is available for that, please let me know.

Recruitment is going well, but we are still short of volunteers, both HAM operators and non-radio people. If you haven't signed on yet but were planning to, please do so as soon as it's convenient (to help with our planning) using the worker sign-up form on the web site. If you have difficulty with the form, please let me know as soon as possible, we need to know.

One of our volunteers, Blair Walker, has prepared a check list of useful preparatory items to have with you on the day of the rally, which is available on request, just ask me.

Because of the rally date, May 5, and our very variable so-called "temperate" climate in the Ottawa valley, we could be subject to anything from humid summer heat to Arctic snow. Complaining about weather is as Canadian as back bacon, so I won't drag it out here, but be prepared for anything. During the last week leading up to the rally, be sure to check the weather predictions, if only so you can have a good laugh when they're wrong.

FYI, Durham Radio has again provided a give-away prize for HAM operators working the LHFR, and there will be also be a prize draw for all volunteers for a kayak at the rally banquet donated by another event sponsor ClearWaterDesign.

Thanks again for helping. Compared to other sports, rally seems to require a high percentage of volunteers compared with competitors and as I've said many times before, without volunteers nobody gets to play.