WATCH and LISTEN To: St Louis Reunion Farewell Dinner Video #1

St Louis Farewell Dinner Video #2

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USMC VTA Mini-Reunion in Wyoming!!! 

The dates are September 17^th to 20^th, 2022

The Holiday Inn Express & Suites

1002 – 11^th Street, Lander, WY 82520

REMINDER:  This is a mini-reunion…there is no registration form and no upfront fee.  We will be asking for “donations” after we arrive and get moving… 

ACIVITY SCHEDULE:

Saturday, Sept. 17 – Arrive.  Lunch on your own.

For dinner we are thinking about arranging for an “Old West” dinner in the little town of Hudson which is about ten miles outside of Lander.  You will be responsible for your own beverages … but dinner will be paid for by the VTA.  I have been told that you will probably remember the meal for a long time after.  And by the by, we will select several of the restaurant’s best-selling items for you to choose from…to be chosen by you about a month before we gather.  Please don’t arrive too late or you’ll miss dinner.

Sunday, Sept. 18 – Free Breakfast at the hotel.

We will then travel by charter bus to Dubois and spend the day at the National Military Vehicle Museum. We plan to have VTA-provided box lunch at the museum.

We will travel back to Lander in the late afternoon / early evening.  Dinner will be on your own in Lander or where ever you choose to dine.

Monday, Sept. 19 – Free Breakfast at the hotel.

This will be a “chill day.”  You can hang out in the hotel hospitality room or you can travel around (on your own) as a tourist.  Lunch and Dinner on your own.

Local Sites:       Shoshone Rose Casino (in Lander)

Sinks Canyon State Park

Museum of the American West

Popo Agie Falls Trail

Freemont County Pioneer Museum

Wild Horse Sanctuary

Chance Phillips, USMC burial site (of “Taking Chance” movie fame) (in Dubois)

Wind River Reservation Casino (in Riverton)

Order a FREE site seeing guide book:   https://www.go-wyoming.com/Lander/Attractions/#

 

Tuesday, Sept. 20 – Free Breakfast at the hotel.

Travel home … or embark on a tour of Wyoming (Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, Etc.) on your own.

AIRLINE FLIGHT:  If you need to make airline reservations we will be flying into the Riverton, Wyoming airport.  Right now, there are three flights per day into Riverton.  There may be some unfortunate changes where there is only one flight per day.  I highly recommend that you take care of this sooner than later.

PLEASE NOTE:  Just so you are aware, several attendees are flying to either Salt Lake City, UT; Denver, CO; Jackson Hole or Cheyenne, WY and renting a car to drive to Lander … many of them are planning to take time after the gathering to be tourists in the area.

 

 

 

 

CAR RENTAL:  At this point, the car rental situation in Riverton is considered “slim” … but if we get our heads together and commit ahead of time, we may be able to arrange to make the situation “better.”  That is, let me know if you intend to rent a car and we will try to get the rental people to remedy any shortfalls.

Again, you may want to fly to a larger city (Salt Lake, Denver, Jackson Hole or Cheyenne) and rent a car to drive to the Lander, WY hotel.

As you may or may not know, due to the COVID hysteria forced a lot of car rental companies to sell off excess cars and now they are facing a very short supply of rental cars because car manufacturers cannot make new cars fast enough to fulfill demand.

TRANSPORTATION:  There are four or five “fixed route” buses from Riverton to Lander each day.  This is a no-cost bus service.  It is not an “on demand: service.  They have a set schedule where departure times may be hours apart.  This bus service is the Wind River Transit Authority at 307-856-7118.

If you need to travel on your own schedule, there is a taxi service (it is $70 each way) and you need to contact Gator Creek Taxi by Aug. 1^st at (307) 851-3619 to reserve your ride.  There may be another shuttle bus starting up later in the year.  That new shuttle bus will also have a fee to ride from the Riverton Airport to Lander.

LANDER HOTEL:  The room rate is $159.00 per night.  We will be staying for three nights.  We will be getting a FREE breakfast so that it worth (what?) $20.

You HAVE TO make your room reservations NOW!!!  The contact information is below.  Most of us know and understand that the hotel will not charge you until you check out of your room on the last day.  Please secure your room reservation right away.

If you call and the hotel says that they are “out of rooms” for us, please call John Wear (719-495-5998) and I will see about adding more rooms to our block of rooms.

The Holiday Inn Express & Suites

1002 – 11^th Street, Lander, WY 82520

 

Please note, guests will need to make their individual reservations by the cut-off date, August 20th. After this date any unclaimed rooms will be released and reservations will be taken on a space and rate availability basis. Reservations can be made by calling the hotel directly at 307-332-4005 or on line using the link below:   (The group code and rate will populate when they put in their travel dates)

https://www.hiexpress.com/redirect?path=hd&brandCode=EX&localeCode=en®ionCode=1&hotelCode=LRWWY&_PMID=99801505&GPC=VTA&cn=no&viewfullsite=true

Widowhood & SSA Financial Impact

When a spouse dies, not only is there the profound emotional loss but also there’s frequently a financial one as well. While a widow receives Social Security survivors’ benefits, she can’t receive the same amount of Social Security income that she and her deceased spouse enjoyed before. And, while Social Security income drops, the effective tax rate tends to increase due to the change in filing status. To top it all off, there are a host of bureaucratic hoops to jump through when a spouse passes away. Here’s a few of the most important:

• You must return the Social Security benefit that your deceased spouse received for the month of death, and any received thereafter. You are not allowed to keep Social Security checks received for the month a person dies, even when the death was on the last day of the month. If your spouse passed away in September, the September benefit is the check received in October. That money must be returned to the Social Security Administration, even if you were dealing with piles of medical bills in your spouse’s last month of life.
• You will not receive a survivor benefit in addition to your own retirement benefit. You receive the higher of the two and, for the overwhelming majority of women, that means giving up your own retirement benefit to receive the higher survivors benefit.
• If you receive your own retirement benefit, rather than a spouse benefit, your benefit will not automatically convert to a survivors benefit — you must apply. You cannot apply online however, and you must get an appointment from the Social Security Administration. Survivors must contact Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 to request an appointment. News reports suggest this has been huge problem for many eligible beneficiaries during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to staffing shortages and closed local offices. TSCL is still sorting through Social Security survivor data, which appears to be lower than the 5,886,000 forecast by the Social Security Trustees in 2020. We are not certain whether some of this is because of deaths due to COVID-19, or problems that eligible beneficiaries may have had in scheduling appointments to file claims for survivor benefits, or both.
• Your tax filing status and exemptions change. Tax rates and exemptions tend to be more favorable for married couples filing jointly. When a spouse passes away, you will file as a “single” taxpayer in the following tax year. Single taxpayers often must pay a higher effective rate than married couples, and you don’t qualify for the more generous standard exemption for joint filers.

Several approaches to modify Social Security benefits in order to aid widows are available to Congress. One widely discussed option would boost the widow’s benefit to a percentage of the couple’s combined Social Security benefit (such as 75% of the combined benefit) when the deceased spouse was alive, allowing the widow to choose the higher of the new boosted benefit or what she would otherwise receive as a widow’s benefit.

[Source: [Source: The Senior Citizens League | October 19, 2021 ++]

VA: Federal Benefits, for Veterans, Dependents and Survivors 2021 Edition

USMC VTA Legacy Donation Program

If you would like to make a Legacy donation to the USMC Vietnam Tankers Association upon checking into the Big Tank Park in the Sky, we have outlined a guide for your planning in making an informed and impactful decision.  All you need to do is follow a few simple steps to ensure your Legacy Donation is in place.

1. Chose the USMC Vietnam Tankers Association as one of your Beneficiaries.
2. Chose where and how you want your Legacy Donation to be used.

Example:  VTA Buddy Fund–VTA Scholarship Fund–VTA General Fund

3. Chose from the suggested paragraph language for your lawyer or advisor to place into your will or trust.

         a) Specific Bequest:

I give, devise and bequeath to the USMC Vietnam Tankers Association 16605 Forest Green Terrace. Elbert, CO. 80106, the sum of $_________ ( or here otherwise describe the gift) for its ( where the Legacy Donation is to be used or put) general purposes as shall be determined by its Board.

        b) Residuary Bequest:

All (or state a_______%) of the rest, residue, remainder of my property, both real and personal and whosesoever situated, I give, devise and bequeath to the USMC Vietnam Tankers Association 16605 Forest Green Terrace. Elbert, CO. 80106 for its (where the Legacy Donation is to be used or put: general purposes as shall be determined by the Board).

         c) Gift of Other Personal Property:

I give the USMC Vietnam Tankers Association 16605 Forest Green Terrace. Elbert, CO. 80106 (here describe the gift, for example: coins, property, collections and/or firearms) for its (where the Legacy Donation is to be used or put: general purposes as shall be determined by its Board).

4. Important information you need when meeting with your lawyer or adviser to integrate in to your will or trust.

USMC Vietnam Tankers Association IRS: number 207115000 Effective date: 7/7/06 Combat Tax Exempt Association 501(c) 19

5. Notify the USMC Vietnam Tankers Association by letter, as we need to know of your Legacy Donation, or if you wish for your gift to remain Anonymous.

If you have questions please call or email:  Rick Lewis Vice President USMC VTA and he will get answers to your questions.

Rick can be reached via phone at 858-735-1772 or email: ricklent@aol.com