A high school reunion can be loads of fun! I know, because I go to them all the time...and many aren't even my class! Heck, I've probably been to as many reunions as a name badge salesman.
It doesn't matter if you graduated from a tiny school or a giant suburban one. There were 1000 students in my senior class. (I don't remember how long the graduation ceremony lasted, but I think I packed refreshments.)
The key to a successful reunion, folks tell me, is "building a community." That is, every person invited needs to feel they are part of a special group. But how do you do that?
Here's how our class developed three huge reunions. I hope these ideas will work for you, too:
1. BEGIN LOCALLY -- Those still living in the same town as your high school form the ideal "reunion committee." If you live close to your school, how many of your fellow grads still live within your zip code?
2. INITIAL GATHERING -- Call the local folks you know first, then ask them to call classmates THEY know. Schedule an informal lunch or dinner at an inexpensive, easy-to-find local restaurant.
3. INCLUDE EVERYBODY -- The larger the planning committee, the better! At the initial event, ask everyone to bring mailing and/or e-mail addresses for all classmates with whom they're still in contact.
4. CLASS ARCHIVIST -- Appoint one member -- preferably one with solid computer skills -- to develop a database (or spreadsheet) that lists important details of each class member (name, address, city/state/zip, home phone, business phone, cell phone, fax, and...MOST IMPORTANT, E-MAIL.
5. SET A DATE -- Preferably about a year away! Then, send that date (and location, if possible) to local newspapers, radio stations, and your old high school.
6. ASK FOR DONATIONS -- This is really hard to do...but it's tough to grow a reunion without SEED MONEY. Those early dollars can help you (a)buy postage for mailings, (b)fund a classmate to set up a solid e-mail database, (c)book a location, (d)fund long distance charges to call folks who are out of town.
7. BUILD THAT DATABASE -- An old school phone directory is a good place to start. Call parents, brothers and sisters of classmates. Talk to people who graduated the year before and after you.
8. E-MAIL -- The BEST way we found to both gather NEW addresses and information is FREQUENT e-mails to classmates. Another idea: Create an "Each one, reach one" campaign by asking every one on your database to find at least ONE other class member.
9. CAN I HELP? -- One of the best ways to generate classmate replies and reservations is to send frequent, SHORT e-mails to classmates. For lots of writing ideas, you might buy a copy of my little book "Words That Stick." It's available at: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS8/qid/
10. PROFESSIONAL PLANNERS -- Need help planning your renuion, and a way to create e-mail messages that make classmates want to attend? For details, e-mail me at rixquinn@charter.net
RIX QUINN writes the weekly syndicated humor feature "Poor Rix's Almanac" for DBR Media. His book on short writing -- "Words That Stick" -- is available from your local bookstore or http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS8/qid/ |
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