Awards, Training, and Excitement Headline Summit

AARP Wyoming photo - Edited with Google AI

Thirty volunteer leaders from around Wyoming descended on the Ranch at UCross in North Central Wyoming, Oct. 2 for three days of workshops and discussions to further AARP Wyoming's work in the Cowboy State. Themed, ìRooted & Amplified: Technology as a Force to Deepen Community Connections, the week saw presentations from AARP's national office featuring volunteer-led fraud and scam prevention efforts and methods for equipping volunteers to connect and lead presentations offered by local community action teams in the fields of caregiving, artificial intelligence, and movie nights.

The week kicked off with a Volunteer Awards Dinner on Wednesday, Oct. 2, honoring the state's Andrus Award Winner, Jack Wood of Sheridan, as well as Community Partners, and local AARP Community Action Volunteer leaders. The dinner was followed by a campfire before the work started on Oct. 3.

Among the guest speakers were AARP Wyoming Regional Vice President Will Phillips, who made the trip from Indianapolis, and Gillette State Senator Eric Barlow who discussed the 2024 Legislative Session and offered a preview of 2025. Along the way, Barlow encouraged community action teams and volunteers to reach out to their lawmakers and foster relationships well ahead of sessions to be sure their issues were understood by legislators.

It wasnít all work and no fun for the group as trivia events broke up the learning through the week and Friday morning offered opportunities for fishing, horseback riding, or a brain health scavenger hunt.