What to Do When - Establishing a Timeline for your Family Reunion
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| One of the biggest challenges in planning a reunion is getting the timing right. Where to begin is a lot like baking a cake; you have to gather the right ingredients before you can get started. The biggest jumpstart you can give yourselves is a good review of the big picture - to get a handle on the major tasks so you can break them down into smaller steps. Once you identify the steps, you can set deadlines so that all the pieces come together on time. Much of reunion planning is interdependent, so some tasks can't begin until others are completed. The major milestones typical to most reunions are: |
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the date the first communication goes out inviting people to join the committee (from 12 to 18 months before the reunion) |
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choosing a date for the reunion (as early as you need to secure a facility) |
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the date a 'teaser' goes out letting members know that a reunion is coming up and to watch for further details (from 8 to 12 months before the reunion) |
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the date the actual invitation to the reunion goes out (from 4 to 5 months before the reunion) |
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the deadline you give your members to pay for the reunion (about 8 weeks prior to the reunion) |
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the date of the reunion itself |
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| The hardest thing for most reunion committees to recognize early on is the importance of the date that the invitation goes out. Most of the decision-making and member search must occur before you can send an invitation. You need prices, vendors and a budget before you can determine a ticket price, and you need to put a ticket price in the invitation. The invitation should go out at least four (4) months prior to the reunion, so you can't establish a date for the invitation to go out until you have chosen a date for the reunion. For some groups, the date may be entirely dependent upon what facilities are available. The larger your group, the earlier you'll have to choose a facility, because as group size increases, the number of facilities equipped to host large groups decreases. See how interconnected some of these reunion-planning decisions can be? The biggest milestone for all reunions is the date that the invitation goes out and there's a lot to do before that time. The following is a list of some of the things that need to be done before you can send an invitation. |
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Design an extraordinary reunion |
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Hold a budget meeting and determine ticket prices |
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Determine deadlines for reservation and payment |
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Finish the bulk of the member search (if you need to conduct one) |
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Determine plans for memorials and any special guests |
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Send a compelling invitation with a personal request to attend |
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| Family reunions have some distinct advantages over other reunion types because an extensive member search is usually unnecessary which means that families can wait a bit longer to start planning. It's not unusual for families to start planning summer reunions during the Christmas holidays. This is fine if your family members can be flexible with their travel plans and if you won't be competing with weddings or other reunions for facilities. Be aware of just how many other events you may be competing with for space, though. June is the wedding month and many brides book their facilities a year or more in advance. Corporate holiday parties have the edge on the big facilities during the months of November and December. And, school schedules will affect whether or not your family members can attend if they have children or grandchildren who will be attending important events such as graduation. If you need a large facility in which to gather or if you'll be traveling together, you may want to start making reservations a year or more in advance. Think about some of the things you might want to include in your reunion plans. Big projects like a family genealogy may take time to compile. You also may need early reservation and payment deadlines in order to send the book to the printer and get it delivered to the reunion on time. Even though families can wait to start planning until about six (6) months before a reunion if you don't have a lot of family members to find, don't wait so long that it will be difficult for family members to fit the reunion into their plans. |
| Dina C. Carson is the author of Reunion Solutions: Everything You Need to Plan an Extraordinary Family, School, Military, Corporate or Association Reunion, available at your local bookstore or at
www.ReunionSolutions.com |
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