Organizing a Successful Family Reunion Event
Since the advent of the personal computer and network technology
genealogy research by family members has become an addictive
pastime that has contributed to many happy family reunions. But
what if you were asked to organize the next event? Where would
you start? When should you start? Should you hire a family
reunion planner? The answers to these questions are three fold.
Since the advent of the personal computer and network technology
genealogy research by family members has become an addictive
pastime that has contributed to many happy reunions while others
have discovered family members they never knew they had the
world over.
If your reading this article you're probably one of those family
members who have a spot in your heart for such reunions. But
what if you were asked to organize the next event? Where would
you start? When should you start? Should you hire a family
reunion planner? The answers to these questions are three fold.
1. Get Help Early In The Project Form a reunion committee
comprised of at least one member per 25 attendees. Delegate all
tasks. Your task is to follow up with the progress of each task
and keep everyone on the same page.
2. Good Communication You've heard it said "if you build
it they will come?" Not if no one told them you build it.
3. Provide Plenty of Time To Rally Support Often good
communication and plenty of time is all that's needed to rally
support. You want to let the family know that your planning a
reunion well in advance. At the very least give them a date.
Details can follow later. Now they can schedule time off or
adjust their vacation plans to include the reunion. To that end
Mark recommends that the reunion be planned at least one year in
advance providing plenty of time to foresee and execute action
items.
To keep reunion meetings from getting bogged down with too much
information and little time to follow up with delegated tasks
make use of good scheduling, planning tools and action items
lists.
For example, if there is a need to schedule a tour of a memorial
site, order catering and have a professional on location photo
shoot one needs to know when to make calls, who to contact and
when to follow up with that person. To avoid forgetting
important tasks all that's needed is a good scheduler. Family
reunion planner organizers help to keep everyone on the same
page.
Good Reunion Planning Tools A good planner organizer
should contain a time line preparation reminders, scheduling
worksheets, committees assignment sheets, reunion needs lists,
meal planner checklists, as well as other essentials for time
and cost efficient family reunion planning.
Raising Reunion Event Funds Collecting funds often
becomes a major concern. Figuring out how to get family members
to dig deep into their pockets is always a challenge. The key is
to plan a fun event early in the year that features activities
the family will enjoy. Mid-way into the event, not at the end,
schedule to have a live or silent auction of several items
highly valued by the family.
Another helpful fund raising activity is a rummage sale. Make
certain the location for the sale is in a high traffic public
place. Be certain to have more that enough items to sell. Don't
turn anything down so long as it's presentable. Tip: collect and
sell DVD's and music cd's. Everyone loves rummaging through
movie and music collections.
With plenty of time set aside for planning, rallying support
early in the project, a family reunion committee to delegate
tasks to and good follow up using a family reunion planner the
task of planning a fun and enriching family reunion can be an
enjoyable one for all.