Friday, June 17, 2011

The Planning Begins

This may or may not be a creative way to keep classmates "in-the-loop" of how the planning is going for our 10-year reunion. But, I figured why not give this a try. Since a lot of people can't commit time, or maybe don't want to commit the time, to help plan it, reading AND commenting on the blog could be the way classmates provide feedback.

A lot of us have experience planning events of varying sizes. After talking with some people, the most logical first steps were:

1. Find out if the school plans it, if we (alumni) plan it, if there is a budget, etc. (ANSWER: school is not allowed to have an active part in planning it. No, there is no money for us to start with)

2. Get the word out (Facebook - it's free and a good way to begin letting people know about the event)

3. Find out what our classmates want. Which... if I remember correctly... our classmates have varying opinions and are not afraid to vocalize them. Remember the senior t-shirts, the senior video, pizza at prom, etc.? We always tried to cater to the majority, but the majority was always very close to a 50/50 split. And... true to form... there's varying opinions on the Facebook page about doing a weekend-long reunion vs a one-night reunion; cocktail hour vs. formal event; a family-style event vs. an adult-only event, etc. etc.etc.

From here... the next logical step, at least in my mind.... is to analyze the survey results (which as of the time of writing this, are almost a 50/50 split on every question), and talk with a core group of classmates who have volunteered to plan the event and figure out what to do next.

But... while you're reading this... here are some things to keep in mind:
  • We have no start up money, which means we have no money to secure a banquet hall, etc. because we don't have the $$ for a deposit. This is a challenge.
  • I'd be surprised if more than 100 classmates show up, which apparantly is on-par with 10-year reunion averages. With most people still living in Miami and/or going to college together, AND with the invention of this thing called "social networking/media," people have stayed in touch. Reunions are about getting together and catching up on old times. But if we all hang out in the sames places, with the same people, and/or Facebook stalk former classmates (LOL), there's nothing new to see or hear!
  • This is going to be AWESOME - if nothing more, it gives people like me who live out of town a reason to come back to Miami and enjoy the beach. :)
That's all for now. Let's hope more classmates take the survey!

Have a 'Cuda day,

--rick

UP NEXT: Remembering the Class of 2002 Senior Superlative Awards

3 comments:

  1. Rick how about we open a non-profit organization and with that open a bank account under the Coral Reef Senior High School Class of 2002. Once that is done we can put the money there and send the copy of our deposit to you or the committee that is in charge of taking in the deposit. With the money in the account than we can have something to start the reunion. Or see if any party coordinator company is willing to take on the challenge and we don't have to put any money upfront. I don't know just an opinion.

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  2. Hiii... My thought is that everyone has connections.. I'm sure we can find someone who knows someone that owns/ or has a connection with a banquet hall or a really big house we can use, or work at a place that has sufficient space for it ...

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  3. @Rocio: I like your idea of "giving back" and doing something for our community -- but not sure how a 501(c)3 would work: we'd need someone to take a level of risk to collect and solicit funds; and trust that they manage the money correctly. I don't know if we should go this route, although I like the out-of-the-box thinking. Any other ideas? Thoughts anyone?

    @ Cinthya: I think it's all of our hope and understanding that someone, if not more than one person, will have "an in" with all the things we need. But we won't start calling in favors until a few months down the road. We are still a year away... and don't know if those "connections" will still be there a year from now. But yes! We will certainly solicit help in those areas!

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