Behind all the lights, colour and music of the Vernon Winter Carnival parade, one group is essential to ensuring the event stays on track.
The North Okanagan Radio Amateur Club (NORAC) plays a key role helping the parade get organized and underway smoothly.
Equipped with mobile radios, the NORAC team of 14 volunteers assists the Carnival committee by laying out the staging area, guiding parade entrants to the correct waiting spot and ensures that parade entries are all in the right order.
This year NORAC volunteers used a club VHF radio repeater located on the Commonage to support instant communication along the parade route.
NORAC also operates another repeater site on the summit of Silver Star Mountain which provides coverage for amateur radio operators from Peachland to Sicamous.
This repeater also serves as an emergency backup for Vernon Search and Rescue should their own equipment fail.
NORAC also assists other community events such as the Falkland Stampede and Rodeo.
"NORAC members have the capabilities to enable local communications right through to communicating globally from a remote location using portable equipment," said Ritchie Leslie, NORAC president.
"We're ready to assist with community needs should a local municipality or even a provincial organization need assistance. As amateur radio operators we're all networked and can enable communications across the B.C. interior or further afield."
Carnival director Camille McCluskey is grateful for the collaboration, and continued support.
"NORAC plays an integral role in the organization of the Vernon Winter Carnival Parade and has done so for many years. They have always been organized, efficient and a pleasure to work with," said McCluskey.
