Decker confirmed that bringing people together for a reunion requires proper marketing. “You have to market it. For example, although we are professional planners who are going to take care of most of the details of the reunion organization, we are very proactive in encouraging reunion committees to be involved from early on—that’s going to add that personal touch, and people want to come to reunions because of those personal feelings.”

Kandy Davidson, who with her husband Byron owns 1st Class Reunions, in Loganville, Ga., echoed Decker’s thoughts about the importance of that personal touch in marketing a reunion to potential attendees. Like Reunitus, 1st Class Reunions specializes in high school reunion management. Davidson, who is the vice president of the National Association of Reunion Managers, said the national attendance average for high school reunions, including the attendance of spouses and guests, is only around 23 percent of the high school’s graduating class, so attracting potential attendees is job one.

Davidson said once her company has done the initial legwork of searching for classmate contact information and building the contact database, she depends on the reunion committee to then take the list and begin calling classmates to convince them to attend. “We ask the reunion committee to call and personally ask classmates to attend. Their classmates are much more likely to be excited about coming to a reunion when they’ve heard from one of their old friends. This personal touch from the reunion committee is invaluable. They’re our cheerleaders.”

Nashville, Tenn., plays host to numerous military reunions every year, and Laurel Bennett, tourism sales manager with the Nashville CVB, said utilizing that personal touch and capitalizing on the positive emotional feelings associated with reuniting with old friends is also key to successful military reunions. In marketing their events to potential attendees, military reunion organizers often “focus on fellowship and bonding—that’s what they build their reunions around,” she said.

Brown said another key to properly marketing any reunion is allowing enough time for proper planning. “Certainly, we have worked with planners to organize reunions in a very short period of time, but the most successful reunions are planned well in advance.”
Vickie Slack, regional director of sales for the Georgia State Park Lodges, which host numerous family reunions each year, said she could not agree more that the absolute best move reunion organizers can make to market their event and make it a success is to plan ahead. “Most organizers don’t plan far enough out, and it’s frustrating for them and us when they call and we are already booked. They’ve got to be smart planners; for example, many families that come back to our lodges on a regular basis will book for the following year before they leave the current reunion.”

Brown said she also stresses to reunion planners, especially family reunion planners, that hotels chosen as hosts must meet the needs of attendees financially. “Many attendees bring their families, so hotels must be family-friendly and cost effective.”

Overby said it’s also important to remember that, as with any good marketing strategy, reunion organizers must know their audience. She said she believes this is essential for a successful reunion. “You have to know your group…what’s their age, what’s their demographic, what’s going to work for them, what area attractions are going to be appealing to them. You must know your audience and then plan and market your reunion to them accordingly.”

Behind-the-scenes
Reunion planners, meeting venue suppliers and destination marketing officials who spoke with ConventionSouth for this article shared their insight, advice and tips of the trade:

• Many potential attendees are surprised by the “per-person cost” of executing a high school reunion; cost is often one of the biggest challenges facing a reunion organizer, according to Kandy Davidson, owner of 1st Class Reunions in Loganville, Ga. “A lot of people don’t realize what all goes into putting a reunion together,” she said, emphasizing that organizers should be careful to express to classmates what they are getting for their money.

• As the torch of military reunion planning begins to be passed from World War II-era veterans to Vietnam, Gulf War and other younger veterans, military reunions are taking on a less structured tone, according to Laurel Bennett, tourism sales manager with the Nashville (Tenn.) Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The reunions that center
on younger veterans tend to be much less formal. Here, in Nashville, we’ve found that they are more likely to want to hold their reunions downtown around nightlife and spend their time visiting with other attendees in less structured settings.”

• Often, family reunion organizers don’t understand the sense of urgency associated with responding back to hotels that have made proposals to them, said Katina Brown, reunion coordinator with the Little Rock (Ark.) Convention and Visitors Bureau. “They don’t understand that if they wait too long, everything will get booked, and they are right back to square one with planning.” Brown said in order to assist the planner and the hotel, she imposes a deadline, so that once that deadline has passed, all parties know they can move on.

• Because reunions are often planned by volunteers, organizers may underestimate the complexities of reunion planning, said Stephan Dragisic, director of tourism for the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It’s important to spread the responsibility around as much as possible.” Brown agreed, “Form a committee if at all possible, but be sure they are committed to doing the work.”

• Based on her experience within the market, Theresa Overby, director of corporate development for the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, said military reunion organizers and attendees place a high value on service, especially from their host hotels. “Military reunion attendees want to use hotels where they’re going to get a lot of attention and service and be treated like the heroes that they are. They want to know that the business they are bringing is valued.”

• John McKinney, sales manager with Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga., advises family reunions organizers to
“clear” at least two possible reunion dates with family decision makers. “This will allow the hotel to look at multiple dates when checking availability and could save several calls between you, the hotel and the decision makers.”

When to hire a professional planner
Kim McCarty was the president of her 1990 East Central High School class in Tulsa, Okla. And, as the 10-year anniversary of her class graduation grew closer, she knew the onus was on her to organize a 10-year reunion. “I had thoughts of doing it on my own,” McCarty said, “but by the time I had organized a committee, it became evident that hiring a professional might be the best way to go.”

McCarty began her search on the Internet and came across a company called Reunion Celebrations, located in Norman, Okla., and owned by Ron and Holly Uhles. After talking with Ron over the phone and meeting with him twice, McCarty felt confident that the reunion was in good hands. “Even though I didn’t have a track record with them, Ron and Holly gave me the sense that they could be trusted to handle the details of the reunion, and they did.”

While a third party reunion planner may not be right for everyone, McCarty said she believes Reunion Celebrations was essential in the successful planning of her class reunion. If she has the blessings of her classmates and the reunion committee, she’s said it’s a no-brainer to use them for her class’ 20th reunion.

For reunion organizers who may not know where to turn to find a professional reunion planner, the National Association of Reunion Managers’ (NARM) website, www.reunions.com, may be a good first step. NARM bills itself as “The Voice of the Reunion Industry,” and the group says that, collectively, its members produce the majority of professionally planned reunions in the United States. NARM is a non-profit organization formed in 1986 with the mission “to develop an association of professional reunion managers who adhere to strict industry standards and a code of ethics to ensure the highest quality of service.” NARM’s website offers advice on how to select a reunion planner and includes a detailed, state-by-state directory of its members, including contact information.

Kandy Davidson is vice president of NARM, and she and her husband Byron own 1st Class Reunions, a high school reunion management company in Loganville, Ga. Davidson said the experience professional reunion managers can offer is the reason many reunion organizers opt to take advantage of professional help. “Professional reunion planners have experience in working with vendors essential to the industry and are experienced in negotiating contracts. Much of the time, because of the relationships they have with vendors, they are able to get a better deal for a group.”

Melinda Decker, owner of Reunitus, a reunion management firm in Birmingham, Ala., which also specializes in high school reunions, said another reason many organizers look to professionals is because of the financial risks associated with organizing a reunion. “Deposits are needed to hold facilities, for catering, for DJs and for numerous other vendors. Most reunion committees are uncomfortable assuming that financial risk, and that’s where professional planners can come in and take care of those issues.”

McCarty agreed that the financial responsibility of planning her class reunion was daunting and was a huge factor in choosing to use Reunion Celebrations. “Basically, they covered all the deposits and knew that they would be paid on the back end through the reunion ticket sales. Plus, because of the relationship they had with the [Tulsa] CityPlex, the facility where the reunion was held, they were able to get a better price, which actually led to lower ticket prices for our attendees.”

Davidson said the other main factor in the growing trend of hiring professional reunion managers boils down to a simple lack of time. “Everybody is so busy, and most reunions are planned as a side project to one’s everyday life. Planners can save those responsible for reunions untold amounts of time.”

Reunion Trends Keep It Fresh
Want to know the latest happenings on the reunion-meeting circut? Planners revealed
to ConventionSouth the recent trends occuring within the industry. Here’s what they had to say:

KEEPING IT CASUAL: According to Melinda Decker, owner of Reunitus, a reunion management company headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., many
high school reunion organizers are embracing a more casual feel. “Reunions are steering away from cocktail attire and more toward a business casual look,” Decker said, adding that she feels reunion committees that are afraid formal events “might scare some people off” are going this route so that all potential attendees will feel comfortable coming to the reunion.

EMBRACING THE E-REVOLUTION: While “people search” websites like classmates.com and www.reunion.com give groups the ability to find “missing” classmates, family members and friends, more and more reunion groups are setting up their own websites that include mechanisms to allow individuals to update their own contact information and find contact information for others in between reunions, Decker said, adding that in the case of high school classes, many reunion groups are directly affiliating their sites with their high school’s official website, giving class members more of an emotional investment in the site and a confidence about the legitimacy and security of
the site.

BIGGER IS BETTER: Katina Brown, reunion coordinator for the Little Rock (Ark.) Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), said that many of the family reunion organizers and attendees she’s worked with are looking for more, more, more…as in more time to spend together. While just a few years ago, the typical family reunion took place over the weekend, Brown said she rarely sees two-day reunions anymore. “Most of the groups have gone to either three or four days now because the families enjoy it so much.”

Nashville, Tenn., is seeing much of the same trend with family reunions. Laurel Bennett, tourism sales manager with the Nashville CVB, said when it comes to family reunions, bigger is better. “In the family reunion market, we are seeing big, big events. They are getting more elaborate and are including even more extended family,” Bennett said, adding that some families gather for up to one week.

GENERATION TO GENERATION: According to Theresa Overby, director of corporate development for the Little Rock CVB, World War II-era veterans have traditionally made up a large segment of the military reunion market. However, even as that segment’s numbers are declining, the military reunion market continues to grow. “Even though the number [of World War II veterans] is diminishing, many reunions are now becoming multi-generational,” Overby said, explaining that many military reunions are embracing not only the veterans but also their children and grandchildren.

Bennett said these older veterans “want to pass down their legacies” to future generations. She added that Nashville is also seeing many generations of veterans come together through reunions. “I am seeing more Vietnam-era veterans and Gulf War veterans meeting with World War II-era veterans, bringing several generations together.”