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i was a part of a reunion planning, but unfortunatly, it was a flop. there were some things that could have been avoided, but it is much too long of story to retell.
here are a few things i learned from our mistakes.
1. send out a survey to your alums before you start making definate plans. the person in charge of the planning basically, planned everything by herself. then as people started complaining, she sent out a survey about what people would like to do. i think people felt really put off bc they already knew that she had made plans and didn't feel like thier opinions were going to make a difference.
2. get a committe together. try to involve alums from as many different classes as possible. what appeals to someone who graduted within the past 2 years is very different from someone who graduated 10 years ago.
3. get the collegiates involved, too!! the most disappointing thing for me was the lack of collegiate involvement. some of the girls who lived in the house didn't even bother to show up.
4. let people know what they are paying for. honestly, this is the thing that annoyed me the most from my reunion. people whinned and complained that they had to pay $15 to go to a reunion. from the survey we found that people didn't want to spend a lot of money and that they were willing to bring something food wise. basically, the money that people spent went to the main food items (hamburgers, hot dogs, etc.), postage for all of the invites, the favors (that everyone voted to have), a gift for the chapter and some miscellaneous expenses. each attendee had to bring a dessert or an appetizer or drink. no big deal. anyway, i still got emails from people complaining that they shouldn't have to pay to attend a reunion. honestly, there was one girl who was a founding member who said she had worked too hard for the chapter to have to pay to attend. she also said that she was going to be on campus that weekend but wouldn't be stopping by the house. my initial reaction was to reply back that our chapter hadn't heard hide nor hair from her since she graduated and that truthfully, with an attitude like that, i was glad. i, however, was much more lady-like and responded with what the money was going to be used for.
5. understand that everyone will not be happy. one of my very good friends said afterwards, this was so stupid. i would have paid more money to have something in a hotel. i could have slapped her. i know she got the survey bc i am the one who emailed it to her when i noticed she hadn't gotten the initial email. plus, she also sent a letter to the person heading up the reunion to tell her to never email her again. lol, i had no problem reminding her that it was really her own fault and that maybe next time she could get more involved!
6. delegate, delegate, delegate
7. make sure your collegiate chapter is working on alum relations.
sorry for the long rant.
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