______________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for contacting the North Platte Public Schools Foundation. Whether you are a seasoned veteran of two or more reunions or just getting started with a five or ten-year reunion, the Foundation can be of assistance to you. Our mission is to support the North Platte Public Schools by 1) Providing expanding educational opportunities for all students, 2) Providing grants to support innovative instructional programs to strengthen and enrich the public education curriculum, and 3) Reinforcing a positive relation between the community and our schools.
In addition, we maintain a mailing list of the over 23,000 graduates of the North Platte Public Schools which we offer to reunion groups as a service of our office. Helping alumni groups like yours is one of the ways that our mission is fulfilled. It helps graduates feel reconnected to their former schools and builds positive relations with the public for the North Platte Public Schools. We receive many inquiries from alumni asking, “How can I make a donation to my alma mater? I want to give something back.” Your reunion is a great opportunity for alumni to give individually or for your group to make a class gift to your school.
The Foundation realizes that many of you are experienced reunion planners. Some of this information may be old hat. However, we have included some new ideas, an alumni resource person, and some 21st century extras (like website information) that may be helpful to you. So with that in mind, good luck to you. We are glad to be of service!
1. Getting Started. The planning of your class reunion should start ideally two years in advance of the actual dates of the reunion. The longer the time since your class graduation date the more advanced planning time is required. Often site selection of the reunion activities are already booked a year or two in advance by other organizations and locating classmates can be very time consuming, especially for classes planning their 30th or more reunion. However, don’t panic! If you have only a year or even less, a nice reunion can be planned in a short amount of time as well.
2. Committee Formation. Committee members should include a variety of former students to provide balanced planning, encourage diverse, creative ideas and to help attract as many of your former classmates as possible. Classmates who were active in school activities such as class officers, sports participants, organization leaders, and other classmates are people that may be willing to help get things started.
3. Select Leadership and a Date. Once the committee has been formed, there are some important decisions to make immediately.
-Select a chairperson with strong leadership and organizational skills.
-Select a treasurer with strong personal accounting skills who preferably has access to a personal computer and the Internet (use the library on-line services, if all else fails).
-Select a secretary to maintain records and meeting minutes for future reference.
-Select a date as soon as possible in order to have the best selection of venues for your special weekend. Let the NPPS Foundation know of your reunions dates and send a copy of your schedule. We will add your information to our records in case one of your alumni calls for information. Sending us a copy of your schedule also helps those last minute planners who may call us on Friday afternoon wondering where your activities are located that evening.
Also, as soon as your plans are finalized, contact NPPS Foundation to post your reunion plans on the school’s alumni webpage. This is a great way to connect with out-of-town alumni inexpensively.
Finally, contact the school principal’s office to schedule a tour of the school if you wish. With the building of our new school in 2001, many alumni (even in North Platte) have not toured all areas of the new facility.
4. Optional Class Survey. You may want to make a sample survey of classmates to determine if there is interest in having a class reunion. Some class reunions have a small attendance due to lack of interest. Try sampling five to 10 percent of the total graduating class. This is entirely optional and is no guarantee of the success of the event.
5. Start-up Funds. Funding for temporary operating expenses such as postage, printing, and deposits can be a problem, especially for a first-time committee. The committee members could advance “seed money” for these operating funds and later their donations could be used toward paying for part or all of their registration fees. Another idea is to approach alumni-owned businesses to sponsor an activity in exchange for some advertising. Be creative. Use the Internet to appeal to other grads for some start-up funds.
A common concern of many committees is opening a bank account. Rather than using a committee member’s personal information to open a short-term account, it is recommended that your group apply for a tax i.d. number. You may apply for a number specifically for this purpose at no cost by requesting Form SS4 in the Federal Building. The number will allow your group to keep funds in an account on a short-term basis while planning your reunion and paying your final expenses.
6. Locating Classmates. Start this early. The North Platte Public Schools Foundation will provide you with a mailing list of last available addresses of your class. Please know that it may not be current or complete, as it is impossible for us to keep current all addresses for over 23,000 NPHS graduates unless they keep in touch with us. Double-check the list against your old yearbooks and graduation programs to add any names that are missing from our database. In any event, divide up the list among your committee members and start looking. Some of the addresses may still be their parent’s old address and you may find them in the local phone book. Some you may be able to track down on the Internet through on-line phone books or one of the many alumni search services listed in the appendix. Show your list to friends; they also may know where someone is living. Develop a working relationship with reunion committees from the previous years and directly following your class’ graduation year. Chances are the people you’re looking for may have had siblings in other classes. Provide those contacts with a copy of your most recent alumni directory, or if you run across someone from their class, pass the name along. You never know who you might find as you do your searches!
After you feel you have an updated list, send a copy back to the NPPS Foundation and we will update our files and print a set of mailing labels for you. Address updates are done manually and may take awhile. Please give us plenty of advance notice to get these done for your group (Note: remind your classmates to keep in touch with us through the years, it will make your job easier the next time!). We have added a place on our website for alumni to update their information. Encourage your classmates to use this service located on the alumni page at www.nppsf.org
7. Subcommittee Assignment Suggestions. Delegate duties to avoid lots of time- consuming meetings. There is a story of one very seasoned reunion group that met only twice and enjoyed a very successful gathering. However, it is recommended that your committee meet more often than that for a well-planned event. For ideas, please see the appendix for a list of typical committee tasks.
8. Contracts. All vendor arrangements for the reunion should be in writing with no exceptions. Verbal agreements could be misunderstood or changed leaving the group with little or no alternatives. Be sure that all contracts contain the type of service, date, time, price, equipment to be used, menu items, tips, and so on.
9. After the Party is Over. Pat yourself on the back and schedule a post-reunion gathering to celebrate a job well done with your other committee members. Get some pizza, grill some burgers, or go for coffee and rolls and discuss what worked well and what you wouldn’t repeat again. Have the secretary record your responses for reference for planning the next reunion.
-Discuss who will be responsible for housing the records, leftover yearbooks, decorations, etc.
-Discuss what to do with leftover funds. The North Platte Public Schools Foundation can help you.
-Make a gift to your high school. You may set up a scholarship, honor a teacher or think of another creative way to support your alma mater. One suggestion is to ask for extra donations in their registration materials for a class gift to your high school’s fund.
A sample registration might read:
Dinner $____
Saturday Activity $____
Donation to North Platte High School Fund $_____
Total $____
-Donate funds to the next year’s reunion committee for seed money.
Enjoy. Reunions are rewarding and hard work. Thanks for your effort. And remember to keep in touch.
For additional resources and help, please contact:
Debra Smith, Executive Director
North Platte Public Schools Foundation Inc.
301 West F
P.O. Box 1557
North Platte NE 69013
Phone 308-696-3325 or 308-535-7100 x 5
Fax 308-535-5300 E-mail: dsmith@nppsd.org
Website www.nppsf.org
Appendix A
Sub-committee Suggestions
Treasurer and Finance—Prepare budget for committee. Establish checking account. Maintain all financial records.
Decorations—Establish a theme for the reunion and design table and room decorations if desired. Try a display of class memorabilia that might include letter jackets, pep club sweaters, buttons, bumper stickers, play programs, or pictures from your era. Or create an arrangement of typical teenage room items from the year you graduated such as a lava lamp, beanbag chair, and an eight-track tape and tape player if you graduated in the 1970’s.
Registration and Mailings—Prepare items for check-in area such as nametags with graduation photo, name in large print, and current city and state of the attendee. The North Platte Visitors and Convention Center are willing to help with some of the nametag and registration tasks. Ask for volunteers to serve as hosts for each event. Some classes have asked friends from the classes who graduated both immediately before and after the class to greet participants. The registration committee also needs to design registration materials to be sent out—a simple letter with areas to be checked off or a creative trifold brochure are some suggestions. Be sure to ask for email addresses. Your printing costs may be dramatically lower if you can do things electronically. If you have information on the NPPS Foundation website, have an e-mail address of a contact person so folks can register on-line if you prefer. After the reunion is over, send a copy of your updated address list to the Foundation to aid in future reunions and mailings.
Neither the North Platte Public Schools Foundation nor NPHS to use their bulk rate postage meters legally for your reunion mailings. A direct mail marketing company is sometimes able to help for a nominal fee, but many classes use postcards or simple one-page folded flyers. When in doubt, contact the post office.
Optional Reunion Activities—Will there be daytime activities such as school tour, a bus tour of the city, a golf outing, late night breakfast, or a family picnic?
Site and Food Selection—Set the dates and contact various locations such as motels, hotels, country and golf clubs, banquet halls, and other facilities to host your events. Visit the sites and, with your general committee members, select a satisfactory date, time, and location. If you will be holding part of your gathering at a hotel, you may want to secure a block of rooms for out-of-town attendees. Select a menu (if needed) for each event and determine the final price to charge those attending. You may be able to get creative with your food and beverage choices depending on the facility you choose. How about roasting a hog or serving six-foot sub sandwiches?
Faculty Contact—Perhaps some of your favorite teachers would like to join you for one or more events. This group determines which faculty members are available and after suggestions from the whole group, extends special invitations to those requested. If necessary, you may arrange for transportation to the event for your guests.
Publicity—Send out a postcard six months to a year in advance letting people the dates of your reunion and who to contact for information. Let them know more information will follow and provide a phone number or e-mail address for a contact. Working closely with the Registration Committee, help design and mail the registration materials. Finding lost classmates is difficult, even when they may live locally. Try newspaper ads and broadcast public service announcements around the winter holidays to catch people who have returned home for the holidays. As the date gets closer, send out press releases to the local media.
Reunion book—Some classes publish a yearbook of reunion activities and personal biographies. If you decide to do this, will the book be available before, during or after the reunion weekend? Get bids from several printers (or maybe you will have printing done as an alumni donation), sell ad space to alumni with business interests, and have the general committee make final approval.
Appendix B
On-line Alumni Resources
www.classmates.com very popular alumni registry
www.classquest.com classmate search business
www.communities.msn.com alumni chat and information about searching for lost classmates
www.findmypals.com supplies additional websites for finding alumni
www.live.looksmart.com discussion area with an alumni chat room
www.highschool-reunions.org/ reunion and alumni registry
info@reunions.com National Association of Reunion Managers
www.knowx.com public records company to use for searches
www.memorymakersphotography.com supplies reunion memory and
yearbooks
www.nleone.com/alumni.shtml extensive directory of alumni sites
www.rememories.com “Gold Mustache,” a site where you may listen to
music and share the memories of your time
www.reunited.com site to register your reunion information
www.reunionsmag.com reunion planning magazine plus registry
www.worldalumni.net alumni registry
www.highschoolalumni.com alumni registry
www.familytreemaker.com access to all kinds of records
www.555-1212.com online phonebook that will allow you to do reverse
searches
www.nppsf.org your North Platte Public Schools Foundation
**Some of these sites require a membership fee to access the information or post reunion dates. The North Platte Public Schools Foundation does not endorse these sites over any other alumni sites and asks you to please be careful when dealing with on-line resources.
FYI~We receive information from various vendors that assist reunion groups (banquet facilities, photographers, etc.). If you would like specific information, some suggestions on locations, or to find out what other groups have done, please give the office a call at 308-696-3325. Finally, if you have ideas or suggestions on how to make this kit more helpful, let us know. Helping our alums have a great time planning and participating in their school reunions is our goal!