Committees

Our reunions are complicated enough now that we must assign a committee each year to research, plan and be in charge of the reunion. Although formal committees were not formed until sometime in the early 80's, we did have assignments from the very beginning. We had a very neatly typed assignment sheet consisting of one couple being in charge of the most important item-----FOOD! Of course they did not do all of the cooking but asked each couple to bring and prepare something. Larry was in charge of First Aid, Dennis (the cop) was assigned policing of the grounds, Marvin was in charge of the children's behavior, Janet and Dean were in charge of safety, especially around and in the lake. Judy and Darrell were the program chairpersons, Mom and Pop were in charge of devotions and the WHIPPING POST, David and Greg were in charge of babysitting and daytime activities and sports. Paul was in charge of camp security and defense against INDIAN ATTACK. Some of these assignments were funny but the food and church assignments were carried out to the letter. Now we get to the formal selections of committees. Our family chose a third generation person, Todd, to be in charge of having meetings to set up each year's reunion committee. The committees generally consist of two or three couples who must decide a number of things. 1. Where they want to hold the reunion, including what kind of accommodations are available. 2. When the date will be. 3. When each activity will be held and where. 4. What kind of activities are available in the surrounding area and to obtain information about them. 5. Deciding who will have each night's dinner. 6. Finding a nearby golf course and planning the tournament. 7. Planning the church service. 8. Setting the date for the tea party and tailgate party. 9. Providing a room or other space for game night and other get togethers. The committee has complete control over where the reunion will be held and get to research and find just the spot they think will be best.

Planning a reunion requires that a lot of thought go into it because it is sometimes difficult to find suitable accommodations, especially during the long reunions, since several families will likely be sharing them. There must be a meeting room or an especially large cabin that can host our evening meetings and church service. State Resort Parks often work out the best because they usually have cabins to rent, sometimes very large ones, and often have a meeting room in their main lodges that can be used for other things. Committees always try to pick out the best places they can and indeed many of our reunions have been in excellent places.

Each of the nine items listed above are extremely important when planning a reunion, so we would like to explain further what each entails.
Item number one concerns researching and finding a reunion spot. Researching the reunion can be so much fun! The committee can go to different locations and check out the accommodations, and several times the committees would get to stay free of charge or at a discounted rate by stating that they were researching that spot for a large reunion the next year. Our family needs a location that can accommodate anywhere from 50 to 100 people. And with that, we need to have places large enough for two or more families to share a cabin, cottage, etc., in order to make the reunions more affordable. We also have to consider whether there are any handicapped facilities, nearby golf courses, nearby attractions, a meeting room or conference room, and a swimming pool for the kids. The cabins need to be in close proximity to each other, preferably, because we do a lot of walking back and forth visiting and cooking. We have stayed in a lot of state resort parks and they are usually very busy and book up fast, so we need to plan usually almost a year in advance.
Item number two concerns picking the date for the reunion. We have to consider that many of our family members have children, so most of the time we have our reunions in the summer. Even further, we generally have them in late July because that is when most of the younger kids are through with baseball. We also have worked around family weddings before and planned short reunions in conjunction with a wedding to save family members from making more than one trip from out of town.
Items three and four concern planning specific activities. We always have our own special internal activities that consist of church, a tea party for the little girls, a tailgate party for the little boys, golf tournament, baseball game, poker and bunko night, and usually a game night and awards. Outside activities include shopping, local attractions which can include museums, rafting, biking, fishing, hiking, mansions to tour, wineries, and so on.
Item number five concerns planning each night's dinner. The committee will draw up groups of couples, usually three or four, who are responsible for one night's dinner. Typically, the reunion committee will host the first night's dinner, often because they get there early and are ready to welcome the rest of the family. Each dinner group is responsible for the entire dinner, from shopping, buying, preparing, serving, and clean up. They usually buy paper goods to serve on, and most of the time the cabins have pots and pans and serving utensils. They also provide some drinks, including ice tea, lemonade, and coffee. Anything else is bring your own! Once your duty is done, then you are free for the rest of the week-you just show up each night and eat! We have some certain people that always want to fix the same thing at each reunion and have it down to a science, and is NOT very happy if someone else claims that particular menu before they get to it. We have had everything from salad with grilled chicken, to tacos, to chili, to steak, to hamburgers and spaghetti. Everything is always very delicious and we all make big pigs of ourselves. Truly, this method makes it very affordable for everyone, because you don't have to worry about feeding your family the whole week.
Item seven was about planning the golf tournament and we will take this subject up in a different post.
Item eight is planning the church service. We have had many different styles of services, from a very simple all music and prayer service, to all out music, sermon, and scripture readings. We have also gone to a local church for their services. We always try to include some type of memorial for our lost loved ones, to keep their memories alive with us. The children are usually included either in a reading, or sometimes they will sing a special song for the group. The reunion committee is usually in charge of the service, but they can ask other members for help with certain parts like making a special prayer, or doing a short sermon, or helping with the music.
Item nine is about having a meeting room or conference room to have church or game night/award night, etc. We need a room that is capable of holding all of us together and usually the cabins just aren't large enough for this. We will even pay extra sometimes to book the room and just split the cost or pay for it out of our family slush fund.
These are just the basics of our reunions. There are always some special things that happen at some of the reunions. We have had birthday parties, anniversary parties, a renewal of wedding vows, and an actual real wedding. We are always ready and able to include these special events as they make our reunions even more memorable.
The reunion committees start very early with their planning and usually send out several letters during the year to keep everyone posted on their plans. A final letter and schedule is sent out just beforehand so that everyone knows what's in the works.