How to Organize a High-School Class Reunion

So you've been crowned organizer of your class reunion. Sure is
different from homecoming queen or king, isn't it? It's time to celebrate
life's successes and renew old acquaintances. It's also time to
start losing the pounds, covering the gray and planning a reunion
to remember.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Form a committee (see 373 Plan an Organizational Meeting). First try contacting the class officers from your year. Then find local classmates. Assign one person to keep track of the master list and update it as responses come in. Delegate other tasks such as securing the site, maintaining the budget, invitations, food, music and decorations to other committee members.

2. Develop a detailed budget. You'll need to figure out how much each attendee will pay in order to cover the venue deposit, printing and mailing of invitations, and long-distance phone calls.

3. Start sleuthing. Call your high school to ask if it has contact information. Use Web sites like Classmates.com, Reunion.com and Switchboard.com. Send out an SOS e-mail message asking for the whereabouts of missing classmates. Check phone books on the Web or in libraries. Call local alumni from other classes. Check your yearbook for people's full and maiden names.

4. Shop for a venue. Find out if a favorite hangout from back then is still operating. Contact clubs or banquet halls. Ask what's included and shop around. Inquire about discounted rates at hotels for families of alumni attending the reunion.

5. Select a date and start publicizing the reunion as early as possible so attendees can make travel plans (see 372 Publicize an Event). Thanksgiving and summer reunions allow alumni to plan their vacations accordingly.

6. Decide how the event will be structured. It can be anything from a one-night banquet to a weekend-long event. Some classes host an informal cocktail party on Friday night, a sit-down dinner on Saturday night, and a Sunday family barbecue.

7. Set up an account at a bank or credit union with two people required to sign for transactions. If you have a large number of attendees or an expensive reunion paid for in installments-- a cruise, for instance--this is a must.

8. Decide to go with a band or a DJ, then shop around and book one. If you recall a good high-school band, ask those alumni if they'll play a couple of tunes. See 335 Hire a Band.

9. Ask classmates for information about their lives (including contact information). Compile it all into a booklet and mail this out to alumni before the reunion so they can be ready to pounce on old friends as soon as they walk through the door.

Tips & Warnings

• Invite a mystery guest-- maybe a student who became a celebrity, or a stand-out teacher.
• Hire a professional reunion planner who can take your event every step of the way, from locating classmates to contacting local media to hiring the band. Contact the National Association of Reunion Managers at Reunions.com.
• Make the invitations fun, incorporating your school mascot or prom song. (Still know all the lyrics to Hotel California, don't you?)
• Create collages from yearbook photos and newspaper articles (on microfiche at your library) to transport classmates back in time.
• See 226 Set Up a Budget.
• Be prepared to recognize your friends' parents. That's right--your friends may now look exactly like their parents did when you were in high school. Don't laugh, pal-- you're in the same boat.

[class-of-69]

on 5/30/2009 Where articles listed above, like 373 Plan an Organizational Meeting?

[luvs2plan]

on 2/21/2009 I am having a problem getting those I have contacted for our 30th high school reunion to committ to attending. They log onto classmates.com and read the emails I send but do not RSVP. I post announcements but eveidently they are not clever enough. How can I get them to committ and RSVP?

[verum13]

on 7/7/2008 My 10-year reunion is in 2 weeks. The biggest challenge for me was finding my class based on 10 year old contact information and getting people to commit. I found close to 150 people on Myspace.com and Facebook. For the other 250 I used their old addresses we got from the high school and cross-referenced them with people search service www.intelius.com. For under 20 bucks I bought a 24-Hour People Search Pass and was able to find most of the people left on my list. Super helpful.

Does anyone have any creative ideas for nametags? I thought it might be fun to list Marital Status, Kids?, occupation, Senior Quote, Post Senior Quote, that way people wouldn't have to have the same conversation OVER and OVER again. At the end of the event I could collect them and put together a book to distribute. Has anyone done something like that?

[tedpack]

on 3/13/2008 The single most important thing you can do to insure a good time is talk to the DJ/Band before hand. The people who never left town and see each other every week at PTA, soccer practice, poker night etc. are going to want to dance. The ones who did leave town and flew 1,500 miles to attend are going to want to talk, and they are not going to want to shout over the music.

The ideal solution, if you can afford it, is to hire two rooms. Unless you are from Beverly Hills High, you won't be able to do that. Having the music "on" for 30 minutes, then off for 30 would be a reasonable compromise. Promise the DJ/Band the same amount of money as if he played all night. Impress upon him the desire of half the audience to talk. Reunions are not the same as dances or concerts. People (some people) want quiet time, to talk. Keep hammering that home to the DJ/Band. If necessary, tattoo it on his/the

[lovehsreunions]

on 2/29/2008 HIRE A PROFESSIONAL REUNION COMPANY! Go to www.reunions.com to locate one in your area.
Leave the planning to the professional who has all resources too! I did and I was so happy I did!