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Pre Reunion Survey

Forums: Suggestions and Feedback
Created on: 06/24/10 06:37 AM Views: 3227 Replies: 9
Thursday, June 24, 2010 at 6:37 AM

Does anyone have a pre reunion survey? What I'm trying to do is focus on classmates that say they or NOT coming in order to change their minds. Reasons for not coming with out insulting anyone. Our 40 yr reunion is September 3, 2010. I still have some time to get these classmates to join in on the fun. My guess is the financial burden for those living out of state. Some vanity issues I'm sure. Reply with some ideas/questions I can include in a survey... I would greatly appreciate all your input on the subject. Your own successes and failures to like what would you have said or done different prior to your own reunion.

Kevin

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Thursday, June 24, 2010 at 8:30 AM - Response #1

I don't have survey questions per se at this point. But, I've seen some good ideas on home pages in the last year and I'll try to find them again. Some had some cute cartoons about reasons people were attending. We had a very successful 46 year reunion last October and one method which seemed to get more people was to give classmates easy access to a list of who was coming, plus a running count on the home page. This seemed to inspire many. We also gathered info on special travel and hotel rates.

I'll let you know if I find the other items. Good luck....it will be worth your effort.

Diana

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Thursday, June 24, 2010 at 9:43 AM - Response #2

I don't have a survey, but I borrowed some ideas from another administrator.... cartoons, lists of reasons attend the reunion, article on "reunion jitters" , etc. that I thought were pretty good... feel free to look at our site for ideas....

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Thursday, June 24, 2010 at 9:52 AM - Response #3

Vickie Neely wrote:

I don't have a survey, but I borrowed some ideas from another administrator.... cartoons, lists of reasons attend the reunion, article on "reunion jitters" , etc. that I thought were pretty good... feel free to look at our site for ideas....

Thanks Vickie, I'm gonna unlock my "Reunion Humor" page for you to see what I have already there. What I'm looking for is classmate participation in the form of a survey.. out of curiosity and of course to get more to come... So far 150 classmates plus another 75 significant others. 225 total coming to the reunion.... 250 to go! (lol)

Kevin

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Thursday, June 24, 2010 at 9:53 AM - Response #4

Go to my site and check out "Reunion Humor" page and see what I have to date.

Kevin

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Thursday, June 24, 2010 at 10:02 AM - Response #5

Diana Denholm wrote:

I don't have survey questions per se at this point. But, I've seen some good ideas on home pages in the last year and I'll try to find them again. Some had some cute cartoons about reasons people were attending. We had a very successful 46 year reunion last October and one method which seemed to get more people was to give classmates easy access to a list of who was coming, plus a running count on the home page. This seemed to inspire many. We also gathered info on special travel and hotel rates.

I'll let you know if I find the other items. Good luck....it will be worth your effort.

Diana

Diana,
Thank you - I unlocked a bunch of pages for you to see what I have to date. (Reunion Humor) has much of what you said. I really want to see what their thinking via a survey. Many of our classmates are hosting in there homes, myself included knowing hotel costs on top of air fare is a cost burden.. and in this economy I figure the cost to fly in, stay at a hotel will run upwards of $1,000 per person. We're even gathering classmates to pick up and drop off at JFK airport... So far 225 attendees going to our reunion out of a class of 600. 175 are classmates.

Kevin

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Thursday, June 24, 2010 at 1:45 PM - Response #6

Here's an item I posted (and even emailed) for our class to catch a few straglers.

Why Reunite?

Chew on this - if you're struggling with the idea of attending a Reunion, this article is for you. Apparently the internal debate is universal. I know I've had some of the same thoughts. If I wait until I'm rich enough/thin enough/successful enough, you guys will never see me again!

Read on and discuss amongst yourselves. It would behoove us all to realize that our classmates don't care about what we look like, the size of our checkbook, or how fast we've climbed the corporate ladder. For a few hours, at least, we can all be 18 again! Well, 18 with wrinkles, anyways...

"Swallow your pride and reunite"

Not that we look old enough for this, but high school reunion season has rolled around, and this year is a biggie. Over the next few months, thousands of erstwhile kids from across the region will be flocking home to the nest like overgrown chicks for the ultimate midlife milestone: the 50th high school reunion. (Remember, our 60 is our grandparents 40!)

But there is a surprising number of sixty-somethings who insist on missing this incredible chance to face - and laugh at - the past. Why? This is what we're hearing, and why we think they should change their minds.


The Top 10 list of excuses for avoiding the reunion...

#1. I didn't get rich. Or, my job was not high-powered enough. When will you be successful enough to face everyone? In 2029, at our 70th reunion? Please don't wait that long, life is too short to miss a chance to connect. Check your ego, and show up anyway.

#2. I'm 67 and have not had a successful marriage, had kids, bought a house, written a book, sold my screenplay, . (fill in your favorite personal disappointment here). You have been doing something during these past 50 years. Come and tell everyone about it.

#3. I'm too fat/going bald/have an embarrassing skin condition. You aren't alone. Not a good excuse. Pull on your Spandex, comb it over, slather on the Eucerin, and forget about it for the night.

#4. I hated everyone from high school. Everyone? Not one single person you can remember with fondness? Check your e-mail contacts list, I bet there is at least one faithful high school pal there. Message them and see if they are going. Ask if they would like to see you there.

#5. Everyone from high school hated me. Or, I haven't been in touch in 20 years, so if they didn't hate me then, they hate me now. And ignoring this problem will make it go away? Time to make amends. Show up at your reunion, make peace, and enjoy a special bonus - you won't spend the next 20 years being hated.

#6. I can't remember anyone's name. That's why God invented name tags and an open bar.

#7. I'm afraid to see the one who broke my heart/whose heart I broke. Or, I'm afraid I won't see them. Suck it up, they probably don't remember you anyway.

#8. I don't want my spouse to know what a loser I was in high school. They already know. They love you anyway.

#9. I hate '50s music. I refuse to go anywhere where I might be trapped in a room listening to Little Eva or "Harper Valley PTA". Maybe your friends' reunion hired a sadistic DJ, but our reunion has made its playlist negotiable.

#10. I can't go because I (or someone very close to me) is having a baby, living more than 3,000 miles away, just declared bankruptcy... OK, in those very special cases, you may get a free get-out-of-reunion card, and we wish you well. But you can still connect on our web site!

But seriously folks, even though we lived in Claremont when it was still mostly orange groves and golf carts - there is something to celebrate about where we came from, and how far we've come. Even if some of you are afraid it's not far enough.

See you there.            

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Friday, June 25, 2010 at 7:28 AM - Response #7

Frank,
Thanks for that. I can tweak the excuses to fit our class.

Kevin

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Friday, June 25, 2010 at 12:39 PM - Response #8

Collect and post photos of classmates as they look NOW. I've taken head-shots of about 30 of our class members at the previous two Reunion Team meetings and loaded them up. None of them look like they did in 1961. And I hope that will encourage others.

I've use the line (and posted it here before) that:

"The 50th Reunion isn't about waistlines, hairlines or credit lines. It's about life lines. It's about reconnecting with our friends from some of the best years of our lives."

I just added a new item to our profile: "Who were some of your best friends back in high school?" Hoping to be able to use that information to reconnect some of those who haven't yet committed to the reunion to actually do so when they see some of their best friends from back in the day will be there.

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Edited 06/27/10 9:03 AM
Sunday, June 27, 2010 at 7:41 AM - Response #9

John Chidester wrote:

Collect and post photos of classmates as they look NOW. I've taken head-shots of about 30 of our class members at the previous two Reunion Team meetings and loaded them up. None of them look like they did in 1961. And I hope that will encourage others.

I've use the line (and posted it here before) that:

"The 50th Reunion isn't about waistlines, hairlines or credit lines. It's about life lines. It's about reconnecting with our friends from some of the best years of our lives."

I just added a new item to our profile: "You were some of your best friends back in high school?" Hoping to be able to use that information to reconnect some of those who haven't yet committed to the reunion to actually do so when they see some of their best friends from back in the day will be there.

John,
Best line I have heard or read so far...."The 50th Reunion isn't about........................

Thanks for that John, well put!

Kevin

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