As a wise proverb says: “Everything has its time under the sun. Time to run, time to laugh, time to jump.” With that feeling comes the time to strengthen the ties of family union. And what better way to start than to plan your next family gathering. Family reunion events have become huge annual family revelries these days. From gatherings at the old farmhouse to luxury cruise ship gala events. But when is a good time to start planning your family reunion? The fact is that any time is a good time to start planning a meaningful and memorable family reunion.
KEEP TIME ON YOUR SIDE
The key to successfully planning a small to large family event is to give yourself and the rest of the family plenty of time to organize everything. This will also allow family reunion planners to get support when and where it is needed. This calls for good communication and organization on the part of meeting planners.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT SOFTWARE FOR THE FAMILY REUNION
Your best approach to organizing a family reunion event is to use what is called a family reunion planner organizer with *attendance registration spreadsheet features. Planner organizers now come in many software formats. A standalone program may require manual entry of information such as meeting date, time, number of attendees, invitee list contact information, and so on. It is advantageous to choose meeting planning software platforms that allow users to export and import data in formats most users are familiar with, such as MS Word and Excel spreadsheets.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE COMMITTEE MEETING
Users should be able to take advantage of the spreadsheet’s data reporting and presentation features, such as bar and pie charts for surveys, overdue ledgers, and more. Your family reunion planner organizer should allow you to easily enter the survey and count data. For example, the reunion committee narrows down three possible venues for the family reunion event. You may want to find out how far these locations are from each attendee’s home address. Features that allow you to enter the travel distance to the gathering event location per household and run a comparison report can help you narrow down the most convenient locations.
ACCOUNT AND BALANCE CHECKLISTS
Your software should include features that allow you to aggregate T-shirt orders and payment balances. Track desired meeting activities and menu surveys. Keep track of delegated tasks. Make sure your planner also comes with a family reunion planning primer. It should contain an editable pre-written timeline planner with an integrated checklist. Meeting supplies and materials lists are extremely helpful. Many meeting planners come with a host of templates such as flyers, labels, name tags, stationery for official meeting correspondence, welcome letter template, to name a few.
USEFUL SEARCH ENGINE FEATURES
Major search engines now offer features that allow users to share standard data in MS Word and Excel spreadsheet format with other users online, making the meeting communication process much easier for everyone. everyone involved.
STEP-BY-STEP MEETING PLANNING
Step 1. Your first task is to gather information from family members about the type of family reunion event they would like to have. To do this, you must first begin announcing that plans are underway for the next family reunion and the need to brainstorm ideas and select volunteers for committee members.
Step 2. Compile a list of family members and their addresses and send your announcements in flyer or newsletter format. Your ad must include a short survey asking for your opinions and suggestions on food, entertainment, theme, events, and location. Those who respond quickly and provide practical input should be asked to serve on the meeting committee.
Step 3. Set a time and place for the initial committee meeting where the majority can attend.
Step 4. Form the initial members of your committee, including the chairperson and treasurer.
Step 5. Using your “Committee List” begin selecting other sub-committee chairs. Your committee lists include the following duties:
food committee
Welcome/Greeting Committee
Finance committee
Communications Committee
Installation and cleaning committee
fundraising committee
Family History Committee
Photography Committee
News and Media Committee
Supplies Department
Health and Safety Committee
security Department
Genealogy Research and Presentation Committee
Step 6. Now review your consideration items and consider possible locations of meeting sites visited”, meeting topics, proposed date, initial cost estimates for the budget. Remember to use the survey you sent with your email Many Family Reunion Planners contain 30 or more items to consider.
Step 7. As you discuss the items for consideration, record the final decisions about who will do what. Delegate the heads of the committees and the corresponding volunteers. Make sure delegations are in harmony with the committee chair department. Avoid overlapping tasks.
Step 8. Now go into the details of planning the event. Using a “Possible Locations and Activities” list compares completed surveys against the list of possible locations and activities. Draw a line through the non-recommended locations and narrow the desired location down to about three or four options. Now vote. Follow the same pattern for activities.
Step 9. After deciding on the location and activities, you now have a better idea of the needs of the event in the form of materials and services.
Step 10. Using a “Needs List” as a starting point, begin listing all the needs for your event with the help and feedback of department heads.
Step 11. Create a rough “Expense List” to get an idea of the amount of funds needed for the event and activities and add it to your budget list and meeting planner calculation tool.
Step 12. Using your surveys, complete a “Meeting Lunch Program Agenda” if your meeting event will take place in the afternoon. Otherwise, create a “Gathering Dinner Agenda Agenda.”
Following these basic steps when choosing your family reunion software and organizing your reunion event will help you get off to a good start.
*A “Family Reunion Planning Attendance Registration Worksheet” is a spreadsheet that allows the user to record information in the form of a ledger, count meeting surveys, create a guest list.” Enter T-shirt orders and track special needs.
