As a wise proverb says: “There is a time for everything under the sun. A time to run, a time to laugh, a time to jump.” With that feeling comes the time to strengthen the bonds of family union. And what better way to start than planning your next family gathering. Family reunion events have become big annual family shindigs these days. From gatherings at the old farm to luxury cruise gala events. But when is a good time to start planning your family reunion? The fact is, 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 demands good communication and organization on the part of meeting planners.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT SOFTWARE FOR YOUR FAMILY REUNION

Your best approach to organizing a family reunion event is to use what is called a family reunion planner organizer with *attendee registration spreadsheet features. Planner organizers now come in many software formats. A stand-alone program may require manual entry of information such as meeting date, time, number of attendees, guest list contact information, and more. 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 COMMITTEE MEETING PRESENTATION

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 poll and tally data. For example, the reunion committee narrows down three possible locations 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 by household and run a comparison report can help you narrow down the most convenient locations.

ACCOUNTS AND BALANCES CHECKLISTS

Your software should include features that allow you to add t-shirt orders and payment balances. Keep track of desired meeting activities and menu polls. Keep track of delegated tasks. Make sure your planner also comes with a family reunion planning chart. It should contain an editable prewritten timeline planner with an integrated checklist. Meeting supply and material lists are extremely helpful. Many meeting planners come with a plethora 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.

MEETING PLANNING STEP BY STEP

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 by announcing that plans are underway for the next family meeting and the need to consider 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 should 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 form the meeting committee.

Step 3. Set a time and place for the initial committee meeting where most can attend.

Step 4. Form the initial members of your committee, including the chairperson and treasurer.

Step 5. Using your “Committee List” begin to select other subcommittee 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

Supply Department

Health and Safety Committee

security Department

Genealogy Research and Presentation Committee

Step 6. Now review your consideration items and consider potential meeting site locations visited”, meeting topics, proposed date, initial cost estimates for 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 consideration items, record final decisions about who will do what. Delegate committee chairs and corresponding volunteers. Make sure that the delegations are in harmony with the department of committee chairs. Avoid task overlap.

Step 8. Now get into the event planning details. Using a list of “Potential Locations and Activities” compares completed surveys against the list of possible locations and activities. Draw a line through the non-recommended locations and narrow down the desired location 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, start listing all the needs for your event with the help and input of your 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 be held in the afternoon. Otherwise, create a “Meeting Dinner Program Agenda.”

Following these basic steps when choosing your family reunion software and hosting your reunion event will help you get off to a good start.

* An “Attendee Registration Worksheet” for family reunion planning is a spreadsheet that allows the user to record information in the form of a ledger, counting meeting surveys, creating a guest list.” Enter T-shirt orders and keep track of special needs.