Today's Tips come from Michael Dyer author of the Family Sleuther Blog. Michael gives us his tips for planning a family reunion.
Summer Is Coming:
Time to Plan Your Family Reunion
It’s time for genealogists to think about summer.
I know all of us family historians are currently in our
happy place. Winter weather still blankets the country in chilly temperatures giving
us a good excuse to cozy up with our research, but it’s time to think of
sunshine and the living. It’s time to plan this summer’s family reunion.
Family reunions are the perfect opportunity to set aside our
ancestors of yesteryear and engage with those loved ones who share our past. As
Alex Haley observed, “In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our
past, bridge to our future.” Family reunions provide us an opportunity to
celebrate and remember that shared history while connecting with the living and
budding branches of the family tree.
My Family’s Reunion
Success
I’ve had some success with family reunions.
For several decades, descendants of my second
great-grandmother’s eight children would gather at a Kansas lake over Memorial
Day weekend. Camping, fishing, bonfires, and catching up were all on the
agenda. The reunions were so popular and well-attended that they regularly made
the society pages of the local newspapers.
Sadly, as members of the oldest generation began to pass
away, attendance at the reunion dwindled. Eventually, the ties that bind seemed
too weak and uncertain – “how are we related?” – and the reunions stopped
altogether.
Fast forward to last year when we gathered family that had
scattered and lost contact, and brought everyone together for a reunion that
saw over 100 people in attendance.
How did we do it? Here’s how and some tips for you to
undertake your own reunion.
Three Tips to
Organize Your Reunion
1. Take It Online - Social Media as Event
Planner:
Social media is a no-cost tool with
expansive reach. I created a Facebook group dedicated to my second
great-grandmother. Slowly, membership grew to include many of her descendants.
We posted birthday and wedding tributes commemorating her and her now deceased
children. In a matter of months, we rebuilt a sense of connection, belonging,
and reestablished how we were all related.
With that renewed sense of family
and community, we were ready to give the reunions another shot. After reserving
a space back at the lake in Kansas over Memorial Day weekend, I
created a Facebook event invitation. It worked like a charm! The event
invitation spread like wildfire and the RSVPs poured in.
2. Share Ownership
To help grow participation and
interest in the reunion, it’s a good idea to broaden ownership of the event.
Ask for volunteers. Put family in
charge of different components. I bet you’ll find that people want to help.
They want to have a role to play. Perhaps someone is in charge of reserving the
venue, others are in charge of coordinating food, and others are in charge of
set-up on the day of the event. Sharing ownership eases the burden off any one
person.
3. Reminder, Reminder, Reminder
Remember, your family is only
human. They need reminders, and they’re easy to do with a quick post to your
Facebook group. I was able to use humor (posting old portraits of my second
great-grandmother – who always frowned with furrowed brow – with text bubbles
saying, “I’ve got my party face on. I’ll see yours in May!”). With each posted
reminder, the RSVPs would climb higher.
Don’t forget to take photos of the event. I strongly
recommend pulling everyone together for one large group photo. Yes, it’s a huge
pain in the neck, but I think you’ll discover it’s a tremendous marketing tool
for the next reunion.
As soon as we posted last year’s group photo to Facebook,
family members who didn’t attend commented that they were locking in vacation
days and making arrangements so they wouldn’t miss the next reunion. No one
wants to be left out! That’s good for attendance.
Do you have experience organizing family reunions? What tips
have worked well for you?
Michael Dyer is author of the Family Sleuther blog (www.familysleuther.com). Since 2010,
he’s been an avid family historian pestering relatives, wading through vital
records bureaucracy, and passing the spittoon for DNA samples to uncover his
roots.
Thanks, Michael for your great tips that will help as we plan a reunion for our family later this year!
What are your tips for planning a reunion? I'd love to hear from you!
