Organizing an Effective and Efficient Class-Reunion Committee
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One way to ensure an especially memorable experience during your reunion is to be
involved in the planning. As a member of the committee you will have a say in the
choice of events, get a sneak preview of pictures, letters, news, gossip and other
intriguing bits of information ahead of everyone else! Sound like fun? Who would not
want to be on the planning committee, you say? Well, organizing a spectacular
reunion, even a small one, takes time and commitment.
Based upon my experience with all types of volunteer committees family, civic, fund
raising and reunion I have found that establishing an 'effective' committee from the
beginning can go a long way toward making the planning process easier. The reality is,
the less organized your committee, the harder you will work to get everything done.
How many committee members will you need?
Even if you are planning a small reunion, you will probably need an Executive
Committee to take care of the basics event organizing, managing committee meetings,
accounting, invitations, communications and record keeping. I use the title "Chairman"
for each of the Executive Committee positions.
Larger reunions may need additional committee members to handle specific duties such
as a Reunion Book, entertainment, videography, photography, memorabilia or
memorials. I use the title "Project Coordinator" for these jobs.
You will also probably have people who will not want to be members of the Executive
Committee or Project Coordinators, but may want to offer advice or help with tasks as
needed. I refer to these members as the "Committee-at-Large" or "Volunteers."
The effectiveness of the Executive Committee depends on good leadership at the top.
Ideally, the Chairman of the Executive Committee should have a sense of humor, work
well with others, be able to take advice or constructive criticism, maintain a good
working relationship with others on the committee, recruit and maintain committee
membership, motivate committee members and boost morale, coordinate the efforts of
the committee, ensure that there is no uncertainty about who is responsible for what,
delegate tasks, remain impartial when debating issues, maintain credibility as a
mediator within the committee, be the facilitator in difficult situations and make those
decisions that may come up unexpectedly requiring action to keep the plans moving
along. The most important skill for the Chairman of the Executive Committee is the
ability to delegate tasks. Another important skill is the ability to keep committee
members who are helping from afar on track and on time. While most class reunions
are planned by classmates who are still living in city where you all graduated, it is not
unusual to take advantage of the talents of other classmates who are spread out all over
the country for tasks such as developing a website. The larger the reunion, the more
important it is for the head of the committee to manage the big picture and not get lost
in taking care of all of the little details him or herself. The Accountant should be
someone who enjoys dealing with finances because this job can make or break your
reunion.
A good Accountant can help determine whether you end up with money left over ... or
dead broke. Class reunions depend largely upon ticket sales and if you end up short of
money, it is nearly impossible to successfully pass the hat. The Accountant should be
able to manage limited funds wisely because reunion committees typically begin the
planning with no money in the coffers and have to make do creatively until the
reservations start rolling in.
Sloppy record keeping wastes both time and money so the Record Keeper should be a
detail-oriented person who wants to keep track of current contact information for each
member of your class as well as keeping a copy of all agreements your committee may
make with facilities or businesses that will help you with your reunion. The search for
classmates can be a daunting task if your class is very large and it has been years since
you all have gathered, so the Record Keeper may need help from other committee
members or a Project Coordinator dedicated to the member search to help out.
If you are planning more than one event during the reunion, consider appointing more
than one Event Chairman. The Event Chairman is the 'go-to' person for their event. He
or she will coordinate the event from start to stop ... the facility, food, beverages,
decorations, music, photographer, videographer, printer, souvenirs, the presentation
all the logistics. Even though the you may have a Project Coordinator who is
responsible for finding and hiring some of these vendors, the Event Chairman will be in
charge of coordinating everything and everyone during the event.
Getting the word out is half the battle in getting people to the reunion. The
Communications Chairman's responsibility is to boost attendance through effective
publicity, enticing invitations and personal communication with each member or
branch of your class. The better the job the Communications Chairman does, the more
classmates will attend your reunion. The Communications Chairman also can be
instrumental in encouraging members who are unable to attend, to participate in the
reunion by buying souvenirs, contributing memorabilia or taking part in fund raisers.
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Project Coordinators
Project Coordinators will take on more specific tasks for the reunion. How many Project
Coordinators you will need depends upon the extent of your plans. You might consider
a Project Coordinator for any of the following: Amenities, CD-ROM, Decorations, Fund
Raising, Member Search, Memorabilia, Memorial, Music, Photography, Presentation,
Reunion Book, Souvenirs, Travel, Videography, Volunteers, and a Website.
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The Committee-at-Large
In addition to the Executive Committee and Project Coordinators, there may be people
who are not interested in assuming specific responsibilities, but might be interested
helping with the overall decision-making or dabbling in a host of different planning
areas. Committee members-at-large could help with committee meeting organization,
souvenir orders, interviewing vendors, envelope stuffing, the member search, training
volunteers, staffing the check-in table, communications or publicity, locating
memorabilia or acting as a liaison with other organizations. These committee
members-at-large should attend committee meetings so they can take part in
discussions and making decisions.
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The Volunteers
The largest group of people helping you with the reunion may be the volunteers. These
people might not actually join the committee, but will volunteer their time on an
intermittent basis. Most reunion committees need volunteers to help with long-term
tasks such as the member search or gathering memorabilia. You may also need
volunteers around the time of mailings to help collate and stuff envelopes. In the last
months before the reunion you may need help to finalize details and put together
check-in packets. And, almost all reunions need volunteers during the reunion to help
decorate, set up or clean up or staff check-in and sales tables. Some reunions also need
help after the reunion to send out remaining souvenirs. Volunteers ... what would your
reunion committee be without them?
Before you ask a family member to commit to a committee position, it is a good idea to
give him or her an indication of what kind of time and experience is involved. You will
find a time commitment calendar and a job description for each committee position
mentioned here in Reunion Solutions: Everything You Need to Plan an Extraordinary
Family, Class, Military, Association or Corporate Reunion.
If you establish your committee very early on, you will spend less time organizing
your committee and have more time to organize your reunion.
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By Dina C. Carson
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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