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Caring for the Caregiver: Reflecting on a Year of Growth, Connection, and Support

Talk to your legislators, tell them what is important to you, your family, your business and to the future of our State. Whether you are building a budget, a State or a future for you and your family---details matter and these decisions matter.

Last month, the AARP Wyoming Volunteer Summit asked State Senator Eric Barlow to discuss the 2024 session and preview the 2025 session. The Senator from Gillette made it clear the weight that hearing from constituents carries. He made it clear how little he regarded organizations that try to stuff his email inbox with automatic messages, but how quick he is to open a text, return a call, or click on an email from someone he knows, especially those in his district.

As a thank you for his sacrifice for our nation, AARP Wyoming honored Marshall as the Hero of The Game at The University of Wyoming’s football game against Utah State on Oct. 26. Marshall and his family were given free tickets to the game, parking passes, dinner, and Marshall himself was honored on the field during the game. This will be the first time Marshall ever attended a college football game, despite being a lifelong Cowboy fan.

Rocky Mountain Power (RMP), an electric utility serving around 150,000 customers in Wyoming, is requesting a rate increase of 14.7% from Wyoming’s Public Service Commission (PSC). The request would raise $123.5 million for the utility. RMP says the typical customer in its footprint would see a rate increase of $17.17 per month and high power users could see their bill jump by closer to $31 per month. RMP provides electricity in Wyoming in the city of Laramie, between Douglas and Casper, in the Big Horn Basin, and almost all of Southwest Wyoming. AARP Wyoming has produced an online petition which it will deliver to the PSC during a hearing later this year. To sign our online petition against the rate increase, go to aarp.org/wy and search Rocky Mountain Power. The petition was released in mid-October and led to better than 400 petition sign-ups in the first week.

This year’s annual AARP Wyoming Volunteer Summit was an incredible experience, thanks to our amazing volunteer leaders who came ready to connect, learn, and engage. Held at Ucross Ranch in Johnson County, our summit brought staff and volunteers together in a setting that was as inspiring as it was impactful. From sessions focused on caregiving and fraud prevention to immersive activities around the good and the bad of artificial intelligence, we created a space where volunteers could gain valuable insights and explore new ways to engage their communities.

AARP Wyoming’s steadfast adherence to nonpartisanship reinforces trust among our members and strengthens our ability to serve as an effective advocate.

The October 2024 AARP Volunteer Summit was an incredible gathering, brimming with excitement and a powerful sense of purpose! Each year, dedicated AARP volunteers from across the state and our tight-knit team of four staff from the Wyoming State Office come together to reconnect, rejuvenate, and dive into fresh ideas and initiatives that strengthen our communities. This year, we saw our shared commitment deepen toward AARP’s five priorities: Fraud Prevention, Caregiving, Social Connections, Veterans Support, and Brain Health.

AARP Wyoming volunteers met at the Ranch at UCross in Johnson County for three days of fun, training on technology, and celebration of a successful 2024