How does a High School Class Reunion work?

Question

How does it go?...
- Who becomes the "go to" for this?
- How is it paid for?
- Where is it generally held?
- If i want to get envolved, is there any resources for me out there?

thankyou, all =)

Answer 1

Emu comp boy gave you the best answer.

If yours is coming up, call the school, get the contact person's address, call him/her and ask what you can do to help. I helped organize my class's 30th, 35th and 40th. We made sure the school office had a name, phone number, e-mail and snail mail address for a contact person and our class URL. Check your school's web site for "Alumni", too. They may have a link to a page for your class.

If you are computer-savvy, one thing you can do is have a class "virtual reunion"; just a list of everyone who wants to be listed, a brief bio and an e-mail address, like classmates.com or reunion.com but free and open. Write if you want a link.

We had ours at hotels and banquet halls for the 5th through 25th. You have to pay roughly twice as much per person for a sit-down catered meal as you would for a dinner for two of the same quality. Our 30th and on were catered picnics with BYOB. Having the reunion in the old school gym is something you see in the movies but not in real life because schools don't allow alcohol on campus, ever.

Banquet hall or picnic, we always charged a bit more than the true cost and the extra went into a fund for the next time.

There are companies that organize the whole thing and charge 20% more than the true cost for their profit. They will do part of the whole for a fee, too. In general, th emore you charge the less number of people will come. You have to make it nice enough to draw them, though; a reunion where everyone swung by the Colonel's for a bucket of KFC then went to a park wouldn't have people standing in line to buy airline tickets.

While I'm giving advice:

The single most important thing you can do to insure a good time is talk to the DJ before hand. The people who never left town and see each other every week at PTA, soccer practice, poker night etc. are going to want to dance. The ones who did leave town and flew 1,500 miles to attend are going to want to talk, and they are not going to want to shout over the music.

The ideal solution, if you can afford it, is to hire two rooms. Unless you are from Beverly Hills High, you won't be able to do that. Having the music "on" for 30 minutes, then off for 30 would be a reasonable compromise. Promise the DJ the same amount of money as if he played all night. Impress upon him the desire of half the audience to talk. Reunions are not the same as dances or concerts. People (some people) want quiet time, to talk. Keep hammering that home to the DJ. If necessary, tattoo it on his forehead backwards and give him a mirror. Appoint a "Quiet time" monitor.

I hear "It was a nice reunion, but the DJ ruined it" a dozen times a year from friends and family.

Answer 2

> Who becomes the "go to" for this?
These are organized by a member of the class who wants to have a reunion, and is willing to do the organizing!

> Where is it generally held?
Our high school reunions were held at:
A hotel in Pasadena CA
A public park in San Dimas CA
A private club in downtown Los Angeles

> How is it paid for?
1. The organizers try to get buzz from the classmates for how many will be attending.
2. The organizers figure out where it's going to be, and how much it's going to cost to rent the facility, and for the catered meal.
3. The organizers make a mailer to send to the attendees, asking for a check in the amount of $$$, which is approximately the per-person cost figured in step 2 above.

> If i want to get envolved, is there any resources for me out there?
The best resources are your classmates. Contact them to start the buzz going, ask them if they'd like to be on the reunion committee for tracking down classmates, making up name tags, getting the mailers out, etc.

Answer 3

In my case, the class officers were responsible for putting the reunions together. Of course, they were always looking for help, and anyone is free to step up and offer assistance in any way.

The reunion committee is responsible for finding a place and time. Mine were always in the summer, as are many others. I attended my 40th this past summer and had a really good time!

Answer 4

class officers were in charge of my class reunion.

Answer 5

Contact your schools Alumni President, they will be more than happy to help you