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Genealogical Computing
4/1/2002 - Archive
The Online Guide to Family Reunions
With a combination of specially designed software, mailing lists, and Web-based
information, you can make the often overwhelming task of planning a family reunion
a snap. Expert advice, friendly visitor bureaus to help you choose the right location,
software programs to help you manage all the details, and merchandising companies
to create that special reunion souvenir are only a few clicks away. You can make
your event the best reunion ever!
Getting Started
Pulling off a successful family reunion requires a lot of planning, attention
to detail, and follow-up. The best way to get started is to get a firm grasp on
everything that is involved from people who have actually done it. Experts estimate
that more than 200,000 families hold reunions each year. That means there are
many experienced planners with first-hand knowledge you can tap. Three full-featured
sites can help you get off to a quick, knowledgeable start:
Reunions Magazine
Reunions Magazine is a great source for the first-time reunion planner, as well
as the experienced planner. This Web site includes expert advice on getting started
from the very beginning stages of event planning through the post-event conclusions.
You might even decide to subscribe to the quarterly publication.
FamilyReunion.com
Dedicated to helping you plan and execute a family reunion, this site offers a
travel center, a searchable resource tip database, a communications center for
message boards and chats, announcement searches, and a newsletter.
Family-Reunion.com
With the help of Mr. Spiffy, the master reunion planner at this Web site, you
can plan and organize your family gathering in a simple, step-by-step process,
including developing a theme and finding just the right activities. The site also
features a bookstore, message board, and newsletter. And don't be surprised to
find Mr. Spiffy providing helpful hints on the message board!
In addition, you'll find more how-to ideas and tips on the following sites:
Genealogy.com
Access expert advice on getting volunteers, fundraising, icebreakers, activities
and themes, managing the event, picking a date, entertaining the kids at the event,
sharing family research, and more.
The Family Reunion Institute
Begun in 1990 with a mission to serve as a resource to help families with their
reunions, this site provides tips on how to organize a family reunion. This is
also the site to visit for more information on African American family reunion
conferences.
Be sure to take advantage of message boards so you can ask for advice or solicit
information on the best T-shirts, keepsakes, music, welcome bags, etc. There's
no advantage in going it alone.
FamilyReunion.com
Message Board
Family-Reunion.com
Queries seeking the best way to get relatives to be more enthusiastic, create
memorable keepsakes, find missing relatives, and announce reunion events populate
this forum.
Planning and Organizing
The planning phase of your event may need to begin as much as a year ahead of
time, depending on the scale and scope of your reunion. That's the view of many
who have planned their family reunions, including Hank Mishkoff, who organized
an event for about 100 attendees. He attributes the success of his reunion to
early planning. Although he started about nine months in advance, experience has
taught him a full year is even better.
Several software packages can help you plan and organize all the nitty-gritty
details that need to come together to make your reunion a success.
Family Reunion Organizer Software
Keep track of addresses, finances, meals, activities, and assignments. You can
also use this package to set up a family reunion Web page and print invitations,
name tags, mailing labels, and more. ($29.95)
The Professional Reunion Planner
This software package provides detailed guest list options, including attendance
and fees. Further, it helps create budget worksheets, personal histories for memory
books, to-do lists, task checklists, rosters, and name tags. ($39.95)
Reunion Planner
The most extensive reunion software package, available for both Mac and PC, Reunion
Planner features an address book, attendance tracker, budget planner, capability
to merge and print personalized letters and envelopes as well as name tags (including
photo), mailing lists, reunion directory, task management, lodging management,
and more. ($59.95)
Reunited!
Enter all your information into a single database for easy organization and distribution.
Working with Microsoft® Office, this software offers task management, mailing
list management, budget management, as well as member management. ($19.99)
Location, Location, Location
Where in the world are you going to hold your reunion? That all depends on where
your family lives or likes to spend time. This is one of the most important decisions
to make, and the choices are plentiful. First, you'll need to decide what type
of accommodations will be right for your family: a family home, hotel, resort,
ranch, condominiums, campgrounds, or even a cruise. Contacting and scouting locations
should be done about 18-24 months ahead of the event.
Don't feel locked in to a single site for all your reunions in perpetuity, especially
if your family is scattered across the country or even around the world.
Contacting a Convention and Visitor Bureau (CVB) and working with a staff member
to plan your reunion can help ease mind-boggling logistics-and much of the service
from a reunion-friendly CVB is complimentary! Optimally, you should sign a contract
about a year in advance. Be sure to ask about group rates.
Getting the Word Out
Reunion software programs allow for mailing list management so you can create
personalized messages in print, e-mail, or Web formats to let family members know
of the event. Mishkoff believes that contacting everyone frequently is a communications
must. He sent an information packet through e-mail and snail mail to all his relatives
for which he already had addresses and asked for contact information on other
family members. Then he sent follow-up postcards and e-mail each month right up
until the reunion.
"It's like a marketing campaign. You have to be dedicated to it. And be
sure to get as many e-mail addresses as possible," says Mishkoff. "It's
so much faster and you can exchange dozens of notes in the time it would take
for a first-class letter to arrive."
Besides reaching out to family members, you can try the following Web sites
to find contact information on "missing" relatives:
Switchboard.com
WhoWhere.com
Do you want to set up a family reunion Web site? Take advantage of free Web sites
at Myfamily.com, Geocities, and AOL. If you're interested in more robust capabilities
with the genealogist and reunion planner in mind, you can also create a private
Web site at MyFamily.com, which gives you
the ability to share photos, post news, build a tree, and participate in e-mail
exchanges and chats. If you choose to use a specially designed software package
such as those above for reunion planning, you may be able to use that package
to create a Web site as well.
Mishkoff built his own Web site as a centralized source of information for the
Mishkoff family reunion. He registered his family name and the family's original
name as domain names. He says, "I think family members enjoyed seeing their
name as the domain name. It may have enhanced the Web experience and it may
have motivated some folks to view the Web site who otherwise might not have
bothered."
To announce your reunion, you can also post to the message boards on both the
general reunion sites listed above or specific reunion and surname boards at genealogy
sites like those at Ancestry and the Genealogy Forum.
Ancestry.com
Genealogy Forum
Both of these forums tend to be announcement-oriented, as opposed to the query-oriented
message boards found on the reunion planning sites.
You can also list the event on Reunion List and AOL.
Family Reunion List
Search this list of more than 1,400 family reunions by surname. You can link your
reunion Web site to this site or take advantage of a free Web site creation offer.
Either way, you can use the site to get the word out about your reunion.
Genealogy Forum Reunion Center
Find schedules of online and traditional family reunions, ideas, and resources
at America Online.
Souvenirs and Keepsakes
No doubt you'll want to use your favorite genealogical software to create and
share family trees at your reunions. You may want to create a variety of versions
to accommodate all the formats your family may be using. For instance, Mishkoff,
who uses Family Tree Maker, made downloadable files available from his reunion
Web site in Microsoft Word, RTF, and GEDCOM, in addition to the Family Tree Maker
(FTW) file.
Perhaps you have something larger in mind: an eye-grabbing wall chart of your
family tree that will undoubtedly be a conversation starter.
Chartform
Chartform provides a wall-sized charting capability that works with most genealogical
programs and GEDCOM. The company also offers printing services.
McCullough/Shattuck Genealogy Co.
Color fan charts spanning several generations are the specialty of this company.
PrintMyFamily.com
If you want to be really creative, choose from among several formats to incorporate
documents, photos, maps, and other graphics into your wall-sized family tree.
All it takes is output from your GEDCOM or genealogy software files.
Heritage Family Tree
This product offering allows you to purchase a family keepsake of your family
tree, framed and shipped directly to your home. And perhaps you'd like to go a
step further. Have you thought about creating a book that helps family members
identify each other and that includes information about everyone? If this interests
you, try Memorybooklets.com or Photo
Memory Books.com.
And what about all those great recipes that have been passed down from generation
to generation? They make family reunions and holidays more memorable. You can
collect and compile these favorite recipes into a family cookbook-a souvenir that
has become very popular in recent years. Visit Cookbook
Publishers or G&R Publishing
Co. online to find out more.
Finally, what about producing a family reunion T-shirt for everyone? They make
great souvenirs. You can personalize them with your family name, logo or theme,
family crest if you have one, family tree, and ancestor photos. This will, of
course, add some complexity to your planning-you'll need to get an idea of size
from everyone on your list. Many reunion planners also use T-shirts and souvenir
sales as a way to raise money to fund the event.
ARH Promotions
Design Factory Tees
Graystone Graphics
Marnex
Software packages like Hanes® T-ShirtMaker® Premier make it easy to design
your own souvenirs ranging from tote bags to ceramic mugs. The Hanes package includes
2,500 designs and more than 700,000 images or you can choose to create a design
that will distinguish your family and your family only.
Hanes T-ShirtMaker Premier ($29.95)
Post-Event Postings
When the event is over, there is still work to be done. You may want to post reunion
photos on your Web site and broadcast a final set of messages to let everyone
know how successful the reunion was and that photos are available. And don't forget
to ask, "Who's going to plan the next one?"
Barbara Krasner-Khait writes from her home in New Jersey. She is contributing
editor to Family Chronicle, contributing editor on Jewish genealogy to
Heritage Quest, author of Discovering Your Jewish Ancestors (Heritage
Quest, 2001), and a frequent Contributor to Ancestry and Genealogical
Computing. She can be reached at bkhait@aol.com.
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