Genealogy Pointers

Every summer thousand of families hold reunions. Many people enjoy reunions but there are some that agree that reunion are not a good experience. Perhaps you are the one who dreads the reunion the most. Did you find yourself, as the head honcho of this years reunion, don’t despair. Think of the reunion as planning for your next day’s workout: you have to warm-up, work out, then cool down, so you can pass it off to the next reunion organizer.

There are a number of important principles that, if followed, will significantly increase the likelihood of success. This is speaking from the voice of three reunions under her belt.

The key to a successful reunion is organization, organization, organization!
Hear are some essential reunion organizational steps to follow. Don’t miss any or you may find yourself in a crisis during your workout.

Getting Ready
Know who is Family. Prepare an up-to-date family address book and information about who will be involved in the reunion. I strongly recommend doing this early in your planning. Will this reunion be just a smaller, immediate family gathering? Or are you working from one common ancestor and all of his or her descendents? In building your address book, separate families by units and make sure you have all the needed contact information as well as email addresses. This will reduce your time and stress!

Send Out A Survey
Sent out an email or regular mail survey to all potential participants. In the survey, ask for information about timing, budget question, genealogy information and resources, ages and genders of participants, etc. Finding out what everyone thinks will help make the reunion a success.

Select a Date
Once you have the results of the survey, determine the best time that meets the needs of the participants. Understand, you will probably not find a time to accommodate 100% of those invited, but you want a date that will work for most of them.

Select a Location
There is always an expectation that the reunion will be held close to the home of the organizer. However, that is not always the case. There are a lot of factors in determining the location to hold a reunion. Using the budget information you received from the survey you sent out will help you focus your location search. Free is always nice but not always possible. You may have to look for a park, a conference center, campground, a church retreat or even a school. Once you settle on the location, make a map and provide detailed driving directions from nearby landmarks and highways so no one gets lost.

Get Set
Once you have the basics in place as far as date and location, now move into a more intensive planning phase.

Budget for Your Reunion
Now you need to develop a realistic budget for your reunion. For your expenses, identify first what types of things will be included. Will you be a large or small group? Will a reunion committee purchase food, or will all family members be responsible for paying for catered meals? Are you planning any outings? Does the facility cost to use? What about souvenirs, name tags, etc? The following budget checklist can come in handy.

Bank Accounts and Checks
Phone calls
Printing and Mailing Costs
Deposits for various services and facilities
Registration supplies
Prizes
Entertainment
Picnic or meal expenses
Rentals of tables, chairs, decorations
Photographers or film

Now that you have your expenses clearly identified, look at ways to share them. There are several ways you can do this: assess each attendee, divide the cost by families, asses the cost based on the age of the attendees. However you decide to do this, decide it early and stick to it.

Set Up a Bank Account
This is a good idea, especially for a large reunion. This way any expenses you incur can easily be accounted for and reimbursed.

Consider a Reunion Web Site
This is particularly good for a larger reunion. Explore low cost or free web sites with information about the reunion. You could post all kinds of information and links to web sites connected with the reunion like, hotels, campgrounds, nearby restaurants, parks, etc.

Planning the Activities
Decide what you want to do at the reunion, and make sure you have something for all ages and abilities.

Recruit Volunteers
Just because you are the organizer doesn’t mean you have to do everything. Ask family members to volunteer for tasks as being treasurer, maintaining the web site, ordering items like souvenirs, shirts, etc., organizing menus and meals, handling registrations, running events, setting up and cleaning up. Most of these tasks should be delegated so you can be free to focus on the bigger picture, making the plans become reality.

Starting the Reunion
The day the reunion beginnings will set the tone for the rest of the day. Make sure you have a place for people to register, pay remaining fees, and get nametags and so forth. Help family members get better acquainted or renew old friendships. Remember, some attendees will be first timers so make sure they feel welcome and appreciated. Make sure you have a sign in sheet for the attendees; this will help in making final financial allocations and will update your mailing list for the next reunion.

Record Memories
Make sure you are having lots of pictures taken. Digital pictures are fun since they can be posted to the web site later for participants to download after the reunion. Don’t forget to get names with the pictures.

Family History and Genealogy
Take some time during the reunion to catch up. Have people share their research and findings. Make copies of some of the genealogy information they bring. Consider a large family tree posted somewhere during the reunion so people can connect, add to, and correct information.

Send An Evaluation Form
This is helpful after the fact to know what worked and what didn’t. Consider e-mailing or regular mailing an evaluation form, or posting one on the web site with the pictures. Ask for feedback about the reunion in general and specifically, the food, the activities, the location, the cost and for recommendations for coming reunions.

Send Thank You Notes
Don’t forget to thanks those who helped with the planning and execution of the reunion. It’s common courtesy, and the help of the volunteers is often the most important part of a reunions’ success.

Rest and Recuperate
Treat yourself to a little break after the intensive planning efforts. What ever you enjoy doing, enjoy it. You deserve it!