Most reunion committees have a chairperson or a co-chair that leads the way by overseeing the planning committee.
Their responsibilities are far and wide but if you needed it in a nutshell, they are responsible for the ultimate success or failure of the class reunion.
A well organized class reunion committee is almost always a reflection of good leadership.
Here is a list of the most common responsibilities of a class reunion chair:
Recruit Classmates For The Planning Committee
One of the most important responsibilities for a class reunion chair is to recruit and assemble the planning committee. When selecting individuals for the committee, look for go-getters, and idea generators that have a history of volunteer work. Before agreeing to select them, make sure to go over expectations, work ethic, and timeliness of tasks.
Scheduling Committee Meetings
Work with everyone’s schedules to find a time when everyone can meet for a monthly planning meeting. Ideally, the first few class reunion committee meetings should be in person so folks can get acquainted with each other.
Subsequent meetings that are mostly follow-up can be done online via Google Hangout, Skype, or another online meeting software. Meetings should be held at least monthly during the twelve months prior to the class reunion.
Invites Class Honorees
Provides ideas and makes contact with potential class honoraries or class guests. This can be a favorite class teacher or even the principal at the time of graduation. Generally speaking, most class reunions will recruit a former teacher and have them speak at the main banquet.
Preside Over Meetings and Coordinate Committees
Serves as the leader of the meeting and provides the tie breaker vote on any issues. Controls the meeting tempo, agenda, and oversees the planning to ensure deadlines are being met. Also, keeps track of and coordinates tasks that require multiple committees. Finalizes decisions and approves any changes that need to be made.
Another responsibility of the reunion chair is to keep everyone motivated with the end goal in mind. We would suggest keeping a goal that the planning committee has to achieve (Like a final attendance number) in order to consider themselves successful.
Helps Create and Finalize The Budget
Helping create the class reunion budget requires good financial sense, something that a reunion chair requires. Decisions that require cutting something in favor of another are going to be plentiful and the reunion chair is the one that is going to have the final say. Being able to make tough choices that make sense to the overall picture is required and a reunion chair that sees things in that lens will succeed.
Calendar Management
Dues date for different things will need to be organized into one calendar. You can imagine that deposits, contracts, design decisions, and managing final payments across several committees can be difficult to track. The reunion chair organizes these dates into one calendar and then follows up with the appropriate committee to ensure things are on track. Not keeping on top of things will create unnecessary stress that will require lots of last minute patches, both big and small. Read “How To Set Up A Timeline For Each Committee To Complete Tasks”
Develop Job Assignments
Job assignments are crucial to the success of the class reunion. Providing job assignments will ensure that your committee members understand their responsibilities.
Here is a list of responsibilities for different committees:
When you are finalizing the assignments, make sure that tasks are clearly outlined, with due dates.
Work with the Alumni Relations Office
The reunion chair also acts as the liaison between the alumni office and the planning committee. It is his/her job to make sure that the college/high school is up to date on the planning committee’s progress. The reunion chair should also use the alumni office for it’s many benefits. For example, most alumni offices maintain templates for class reunion registration packets, name tag design etc. Instead of creating these things on your own, the alumni office can provide them, usually at no charge. Read “Why The Alumni Office Is The Best Class Reunion Planning Resource”
Volunteer at Previous Class Reunion
If you are planning at least a year or more out, then there is a good chance that the reunion chair can volunteer to help at a class reunion from the previous year. Not only will helping out give them the experience of how to set up an event like this, it will also give them some great ideas to make their planning easier.
Being the class reunion chair is not an easy task. However, the list of responsibilities above serves as a great guideline to follow when you are planning a class reunion. They will help you organize your thoughts and provide the leadership that will result in a successful class reunion.
