Date: For many of you there will be a desire to have the reunion land on or near the date you graduated in June. This might work well when you are within five to fifteen years of graduation, but as you get older, the reasons will change and the need to land the date during 'vacation time' will change as well. Once the kids are grown, why does it have to fall in the spring or summer? The AHAA is encouraging all alumni to consider reunions occurring during the late summer or early fall of the year; preferably on the weekend in late September when we have the 'homecoming game' and the annual alumni golf tournament'...It creates enormous positive synergy if held at this time and brings many classes into close proximity at the same time...Give your classmates at least 6 months advanced warning so they can plan to attend. Some of your classmates in Omaha will want to win the 'furthest traveled' award if you let them know...
Location: The 20th reunion seems to gain the most attendance. The locations are myriad. For my class (1972) we chose the Sycamore Canyon Golf Course in June. This placed us close to the High School, a nice dinner, and dancing. The time didn't matter so much due to air conditioning...For some class members, it placed them close to the vineyards, haystacks, and orchards they remembered (I leave that one to your imagination). On a less carnal or simplistic note, some classmates will be looking for decent hotel accommodations and ease of access...Consider Hotels in Bakersfield for your event, but expect to pay a premium and book well in advance (a year or more in some cases)...Contact the AHAA for info on local hotels, motels, golf courses, haystacks, vineyards, orchards, back alleys, and other potential 'reunion' venues. I am currently contacting local vendors to see if they will cut you any breaks for rooms, catering, etc. I will be posting the options as they come in...
Time: Saturdays seem to be the preferred day for reunion dinners/dances and the time is usually somewhere between 6p and 2a. The age of your classmates will be a factor in determining start and finish times. When I was 35 my stamina and bedtime were different than it is now as I approach 55. If you plan a party for 35 year olds and 55 year olds show up instead...It will be an interesting evening...It will also likely be an earlier evening than you may have planned for since a 'a lot of old people will show up'. The 'Party Hardy' crowd will still be there and you will get to 'nursemaid' them until the posted closing time...You didn't like them in 1989, how will you feel about them today???
Multiple Days: Some classes have their reunions take up an entire weekend. I think you have to gauge how much support you have for this approach and how much you can do to entertain several 'diverse' classmates. If you hit the Homecoming Game on Friday night and the Reunion on Saturday night, is it possible that the out of towners might actually want to visit relatives and friends in the area before flying out to Omaha on Sunday evening without the Reunion Picnic on Sunday morning at Hart Park? You really need to be sure you have the support to pull these off so attendance doesn't decline at each successive event. Some alumni might even want time to 'reconnect' with old classmates privately or 'one-on-one'...
Cost Matters: Not every classmate is in the same place financially as every other classmate!!! If you ignore this fact, you do so at your own peril. I have people send me email who are stunned that so few attended their class reunion. On the other hand, I hear from disgruntled alumni who balked at paying $100 a couple for dinner at some local 'dive' with a $15 buffet dinner, some third-rate DJ, and an old classmate who has appointed themselves 'Master of Ceremonies'. Some classes now hold (1) receptions, (2) cocktail parties, or (3) simple BBQs at class member's homes for $15 a head...Be considerate, no one cares how well you did in the last 'Bull Market' if they can't afford to attend a reunion at your favorite private club...(before you write me a nasty email, I belonged to that club when you actually had to be working in 'that nasty industry' to be a member)
Advertising: Get The Word Out Don't email me in a panic a week before your reunion and tell me that no one has responded to your info on classmates, YouTube, myspace, or Craig's list. If you do, I will ask about how you got the word out. Contact the AHAA website so we can share with you what other alumni have learned the hard way and passed on. Our web site is available free and we can hook you up with local radio and TV stations that will announce your event for free if you understand the drill and follow the rules for public service announcements (PSAs)...By the way, more than 67% of your classmates still live in Kern County and many of those are still not Internet savvy...Your latest photos on YouTube will interest the perverts, but won't find your old AHS buddies...(I did love the shot of you with the sadistic Panda). Craig's list is just for old guys, like me, looking for 'dates' anyway...
Get A Firm RSVP Date: A mistake that we agreed we made on the most recent effort to put on a multi-year class reunion (Reunion of the 70's) was the failure to get a firm RSVP date for our 2007 effort. Kern County in general and Arvin High School Alumni in particular are 'Last Minute' crowds. They don't commit early and this scares the hell out of people putting on events. No one wants to put on an event and get stuck holding the financial bag. Have a firm 'go or no-go date' at which you can cancel and have a beer together at Los Hermanos. Otherwise you may only have 'deadbeats' who show up at the door at the last minute who are sure you'll let them in...You didn't owe them anything in 1973 and you don't owe them anything today!
Grow Up: What Is Your Goal???: Do you really want to have a class reunion, or do you just want to rub it in the face of the people who made you feel small when you were in High School that you are now (choose one) rich, famous, attractive, handsome, well-married, well-endowed (surgically or otherwise), powerful, well-educated, celebrated, or infamous? Be the ADULT in this whole scenario and act accordingly...Show the leadership you always claimed you possessed when you were elected a class officer and champion an event that ALL of your classmates can attend, and not just those who were/are awed by YOU!!!
Grow Up Some More. One of the most amazing things I ever heard from a former AHS classmate was his forgiveness of another AHS classmate for something that happened between them twenty years earlier ("I didn't mean to stiff you with Oregano man"). His response was, "...man, that was twenty years ago...I got over that a long time back." The forgiving classmate had gone on to a successful career in law enforcement I think... The point here is that it's way past time to get over High School and start to act like an adult...You have changed and want the changes to be accepted...Don't you owe it to other people to let them change and accept those changes too???
If you want more information or insight on the pitfalls of putting on a class reunion, email me at farrellneeley@aol.com I have never been shy about offering an opinion and I may even have some valuable insights into recent class reunion successes and disasters to share with you offline....We don't post your reunion disasters, but I do laugh about them to myself when I sip merlot late at night...