FRONT WORDS Generating excitement and anticipation

Be in touch!

Another interesting year is coming to an end, but not without great hope for a healthier year ahead. We look forward to the continued growth of reunion attendance in 2022 and beyond. For reunions that have had a two-year hiatus, there should be many joyous meetings ahead — anticipating hugs, laughs and happiness.

IN THIS ISSUE

There are our usual interesting family, class and military reunions that will give you ideas for your own planning. But perhaps more importantly, we have gathered three large features that will hopefully be just what you need for your current planning. Learn from many other reunions how their committees/planning teams work, plus see samples of reunion invitations and those special souvenir reunion t-shirts. We suspect you’ll come away from those three sections with lots of ideas to contemplate for your own reunion.

There are also two discussions that resulted from questions we often receive and we’d be honored to hear your advice. One is “finding the spark to maintain reunions after an older generation of planners has passed on.” The second discussion is “how to accommodate aging members at reunions who are suffering from dementia.” We urge you to share your own experience so we can pass it on to other planners. And for our next issue, we’d appreciate learning from your experience/

Mail to

Reunions magazine advice about how to pry loose those pesky PO Box 11727 phones from young and old members who

Milwaukee WI 53211-0727 seem so addicted to them. Coming to a call 414-263-4567 reunion only to spend it peering at screens visit www.reunionsmag.com seems to be a dilemma worth discussing. e-mail editor@reunionsmag.com What are your thoughts and experience? Please send to editor@reunionsmag.com and thank you. We owe a deep apology to contributor Leah Jordan Bisel who reported about her mini-reunion in the last issue and asks

about the name on their t-shirts in this issue. Leah was not properly credited in the September issue’s Table of Contents, for which we have egg all over our face and are sincerely ashamed! In addition, we also misspelled her surname. So sorry, Leah!

Now, how can you find your reunion on these pages? Pretty simple! Just send your stories/reports/pictures/videos to editor@reunionsmag.com. There is no requirement that it be a current reunion. Share past special memories of reunions… the ones that everyone starts out by saying: “remember when …?” Note that we edit everything we use so make sure the facts are right and the names spelled correctly and we will make you proud.

Our next two issues will feature Reunion Day ideas, if that helps you think about what to share. What special program do you plan? Or what recurs at all your reunions? What do your members look forward to? Activities? Tours? Games/ tournaments/competition? And food! What food traditions does your reunion look forward to?

Pictures and videos must be yours and ones you authorize us to use. Please send high resolution pictures (250KB or higher, if digital, and 300 dpi, if scanned). Send videos as an .mp4, .mov, or .wmv video file via www.wetransfer.com (a free transfer service that allows up to 2GB to be sent).

GENERATING EXCITEMENT AND ANTICIPATION

Curtis Butler Family Reunion T-shirts.

HOW TO BUILD ANTICIPATION

Keep the details coming. Send or post them little by little to keep attention focused. If you have an active web, facebook, Instagram or Pinterest page, you can post almost constantly without too much preparation or trouble. The trick will be to make sure your members check regularly. You may need to have an email thread string set up so you can alert them to more exciting information posted for them to look at.

At this point in a normal reunion planning year, you should have notified your members of the date and place where your 2022 summer reunion will be held. You’ve sent a clever Save the Date card and posted it on your website and facebook page.

Now it’s time to really start sending more to your members. This is the season for generating excitement and building anticipation. What do they already know in addition to the reunion date and place? What are you ready to tell them? Actually, whatever details you’ve locked down should now be shared to get everyone excited about your upcoming event. It’s never too early to share details that are certain and ask for ideas and suggestions from members for things they are thinking about. And it’s also a great time to ask for more volunteers for chores before and during the reunion. Get everyone thinking: reunion!

No one gets as much (snail) mail as we once did so if you do have the budget to mail something for members to hold in their hands, it can come as a pleasant surprise. A particularly good idea at this time of year, if you’re sending holiday cards, is to include something about your upcoming reunion. In fact, holiday time is also a great time to plan for in-person planning committee meetings when everyone is together or when you’re doing holiday ZOOM calls. Taking advantage of holiday time to sneak in a little reunion time, reminders and planning can get everyone thinking and planning ahead.

Another holiday thought is to consider making reunion presents. If you have members who might not be as able as others to pay reunion fees or travel costs, consider making reunion attendance a gift to look forward to for some months ahead! Pay for registration or plane fare or the hotel or contribute the cost of gasoline for the trip. Many families have reluctant elders or younger members whose only hesitation for going to a reunion is the cost. If concern for cost is eliminated, reunion attendance can go up and siblings, cousins and other relatives can look forward to the next gathering.

EXPLAIN THE NEED FOR EARLY COMMITMENTS AND WHY YOU NEED MONEY!

If you are the chairperson for your reunion, you already know there are plenty of up-front financial commitments you are responsible for. Make no secret about it. Share details openly and honestly with your members from the start. The chairperson usually makes commitments that require some money to ensure you are serious. You may need to make down payments at the hotel and you’ll need a down payment to reserve a banquet facility and caterer. If you’re reserving a motor coach for touring, they’ll require an upfront commitment. These are details few members think about, but they should be apprised of them so you are not the only one paying now or at any time before or during the reunion. If your members are made to realize why you’re asking for money, they will be more willing to pay as soon as you ask. It’s the members who know nothing of the reason for the need for money who will not respond appropriately. And at some point soon, you’ll need to start getting firm commitments.

Until next time, our best wishes to you and yours for a joyous holiday season and exciting 2022! EW

NOTE: Many have lamented that the magazine is no longer printed. We, of course, lament it as well. Now we can suggest do-it-yourself printing. In the upper left corner of the virtual magazine rectangle is an arrow. Click on the arrow to open a small screen. Choose “Open with Preview (default),” click OK and the full magazine will pop up. You can print individual pages or email or take it to a quick print store for them to print back-to-back pages and build your own magazine.