Music for Vets raises record amounts

Last weekend, residents let loose at the 11th annual Music for Vets.

The event was created by local band Zamtrip and is hosted by Tom Whitmore Post 28 of the American Legion. Post 28 also manages the Veterans Relief Fund, which is where the proceeds go.

This event has grown every year since its start. The first Music For Vets happened in 2015, raised about $1,500, and was hosted by the American Legion in Rock Springs. The second, third and fourth years were hosted at Tom Whitmore Post 28 in Green River. Following the fourth year, it became clear that a bigger venue was needed, and it was subsequently moved to the Green River Island Pavilion, where it has taken place ever since.

According to Tom Niemiec, the finance officer at Tom Whitmore Post 28, who is also on the Music For Vets Committee, there is no "profit" from the event, because all the money after expenses goes into the Veterans Relief Fund.

The Veterans Relief Fund provides funding for veterans and veterans' families through an emergency grant when needed. Local Post 28 manages this money. The two requirements are the individual must be a veteran, and there must be a need.

Niemiec explained: "We help veterans in the region, and veterans traveling through the region. They must be a veteran in need. If the need is for a veteran with children, we also fill out national assistance forms to get more assistance."

Niemiec said, "We gauge the success of the event on the gross of the event, growing more than the previous year."

Niemiec reported that last year the event grossed just over $66,000, with expenses last year totaling near $18,000.

"This year we grossed, currently, $70,058, but we have a little more coming in," Niemiec explained. "Expenses are still being tallied, with a few more expenses still happening. Expenses should be less than $20,000 this year but we are not done paying the bills."

There is a lot that happens behind the scenes to ensure the success of this event, and it would not be possible without the Music For Vets Committee.The Music For Vets Committee consists of local volunteers from the American Legion, Sons of The American Legion, the American Legion Auxiliary, the members of Zamtrip, members of other local bands, and other citizens in the community. The committee meets monthly from January to October, every two weeks in November, and weekly in December until the event. The event always takes place the first Saturday in January.

"The committee works hard to determine the bands and lineup for the event," Niemiec explained. "Zamtrip is committed to always have local artists perform in this event. We also work on growing the event with music acts and events that help the event grow. We discuss what acts locally are available. We use band-to-band communication, national talent agencies, bands that have performed locally, bands that have played the Legion, etc. "

Niemiec added that event organizers would love to see more involvement with the local government in the future, since the event helps support the local economy.

"We have had many attendees from out of state come to this event," he said. "We know we fill up our hotels and these folks provide positive economic impact to the county. We would love to have support regarding this event from other local government entities. We know that this year we had people attend from Colorado, Utah, Michigan, Wisconsin, Oregon, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Arizona, California, Texas, Wyoming, and North Pole, Alaska."

Niemiec emphasized how this event has become an important part of the community and how grateful the organizers are for all the support.

"We love bringing this event, which is the second largest music event in the county, to the community," he said. "This event is more than just a concert. This benefit has sponsorship from many local businesses. There are 76 businesses on the back of our concert shirts. These sponsors are both monetary and in-kind sponsors. Without them we could not bring this wonderful event to this community and raise the funds for Veterans Relief. All our sponsors are key, from the people and businesses that donate a raffle basket to the monetary sponsors. Most of our sponsors are sponsors every year. This event included seven musical acts, raffled items, food by local business Native Son, and sodas and beer by our local distributors, all for $15 advanced or $20 at the door. We also donated 20 tickets to be distributed through vettix.com and many veterans and first responders received free tickets."

Music For Vets would like to thank the following: the City of Green River; Between the Lines for providing shuttle service from the parking to the pavilion; those who provide sound technician expertise (from Green River, Rock Springs, and the Ft Bridger Valley) including Scott Anson, Pick'nPalace, Shayne Lewis and the primary sound tech running the system, Nick "TooTall" Sondrop from Salt Lake City; Western Wyoming Community College for donating stage use; and event Photographer Kiarra Zampedri. Music for Vets would also like to give special recognition to Al Harris who has MC'd the event for seven years.

Tom Whitmore Post 38 also hosts a Summertime Music For Vets event that doubles as a thank you to their Sponsors. For more information, follow tomwhitmorepost28.org, the Music For Vets Facebook Page, the Zamtrip Facebook page, and zamtrip.com.