Class Reunion Planning 101 (High School or College Reunions)

Fancy, Formal? Casual, Relaxed? What kind of reunion do you want to attend? Be creative in your brainstorming. Here are just a few ideas: 1. a picnic grove 2. a classmates large house 3. A tent in the backyard 4. a country resort 5. a local pub 6. the school cafeteria or student center 7. a local restaurant 8. a city nightclub 9. a boat cruise 10. and, our choice this year, a ballroom at a fancy hotel. We chose the hotel for a number of reasons: 1. We wanted to decorate minimally and still have a beautiful place. 2. We wanted very good food, not the most excellent cuisine, but good food. 3. We wanted the set up and break down to be minimal. 4. The hotel has a casual place to hang Friday night for drinks and Sunday for brunch. 5. It has hotel rooms for people who wish to crash overnight or for the weekend. 6. The ballroom is expandable and can hold 300 people easily. 7. It is located within 15 miles of our alma mater with free parking. 8. And we negotiated very good terms. (More on neg

Put on your Sherlock Holmes hat and sit down at your computer. You are about to become one of the best detectives ever! 1. Start with your yearbook. Look up the person who is lost and find out how they spell their name. Is there a middle name or initial? Full spelling is key to your success. 2. Start with boys' names because odds are they haven't changed their names over the years. Then try the girls' names. 3. Get referrals. When you find someone ALWAYS ask them who they are in touch with and get their friends' contact information. 4. Go to http://www.classmates.com/ to see if any of them are registered there. You will find that many of them are. You should also check for siblings who graduated before or after you to track lost classmates. 5. Go to http://www.google.com/ and type in the lost classmate's name. Some of them will have done noteworthy things and will be trackable. 6. Try http://www.whitepages.com/ People with odd or unusual names will be easiest to

That's one of the first decisions you'll have to make, and there are pluses and minuses to both. I've worked with reunion companies. They offer two distinct advantages: 1. They will find the classmates for you. 2. They will oversee your party, and check people in at the door. It's your decision whether you believe you can do a better job or not. With Google, classmates.com, whitepages.com, email and lower phone costs, it's much easier to find people than it was ten years ago. That said, this round I decided to build teams of classmates to do the work instead of the reunion company. And there's no doubt, it is work, but it's rewarding work. The search team was spearheaded by a classmate who had a vested interest in finding his long lost friends. He is a part of a singing duo called "Steve and Steve" and he performs music from the '60s in local venues in NJ. He was interested in connecting with classmates to invite them to his performances. He si