Family Reunion Subcommittees
Unless you and the committee want to do all the work yourself
(which, Mister Spiffy notes, is very, very uncommon this time of
year), you will want to assign volunteers to a number of areas of
responsibility. Basically, this section is advice on how to ‘pass
the buck’ in various ways. Now, the best way to appease reluctant
volunteers is to give them an official name: "You’re now a part
of the Finance Subcommittee, isn’t that swell?" "Oh, yes!"
Each subcommittee can be managed by a single upstanding family
member, or a whole family. Try to match up family members’ talents
to the different jobs, when possible. Mister Spiffy’s bad
example: "All right, Joe, seeing as you’ve been a champion in the
Iron Man competition for the last five years, you’ll be in charge
of finances – and your accountant brother can be in charge of
sports. Okay"? Assign one person of each subcommittee as the
chairperson for that particular subcommittee and make them
responsible for reporting to the Family Reunion Committee.
In English, now – put someone in charge of each one and make them
tell you if they’re getting their work done.
These are just Mister Spiffy’s simple suggestions for
subcommittees, and you may not need all of them (or any of them,
or you may want to create one that isn’t listed here – Mister
Spiffy can’t think of everything, he’s not a genius, despite the
rumors going around). You may even want to combine the
responsibilities of several of these subcommittees into a single
one, if the job isn’t too hard. To make things easier to
understand, the main family reunion committee (the one assigning
the subcommittees) will be referred to as ‘the Big Important
Committee’ throughout this section.
Finance Subcommittee
The finance subcommittee handles the money and bookkeeping (wow,
three double letters in a row!). This committee puts together the
budget (with the assistance, of course, of the other subcommittees
and the Big Important Committee), and keeps track of how much
money and whose money has been / will be spent. It also keeps
track of which families have paid the admission (or whatever
scheme you’re using to raise money to pay for this shindig). The
finance committee should set up a checking account to deposit the
income from tickets, auctions, et cetera. This checking account
should be kept open throughout the years and used for every
family reunion, especially if you anticipate any income or
expenses between the reunions.
The treasurer is a member of the finance subcommittee and reports
back to the Big Important Committee just what goes on behind the
closed doors. He or she is the one in charge of the checkbook.
Their signature is required (Mister Spiffy repeats, required) for
the release of any small slips of paper exiting a checkbook, a
wallet, or one of those little envelopes that money comes in from
the bank. It would be preferable if the treasurer is good with
numbers and honest above reproach. It is not an uncommon story in
Mister Spiffy’s past cases for the money-handler to "borrow"
money from the reunion account without paying it back. I know it’s
appalling, but it happens out here in the real world. If you want
a safety feature, you can get a checking account that requires two
signatures on checks (although this can be inconvenient at times,
as Mister Spiffy would be the first to tell you – he doesn’t even
like to remember how it was when his cousin Mister Snazzy was
touring the European continent). Once you have a good treasurer,
it is often best for that person to remain the treasurer from year
to year, instead of changing constantly.
Food Subcommittee
The Food subcommittee makes the decisions in those all-important
food-related debates. This includes, but is definitely not
limited to, how to feed the guests, whether everyone brings their
own food, have a potluck, eat at a restaurant, or all of the above
– although how that last one works, Mister Spiffy isn’t really sure.
If you’re having a potluck, they are in charge of organizing it so
that a good variety of food is provided, without the Big Important
Committee having to worry about it. If a restaurant meal is being
planned, they are in charge of finding the restaurant and making
the reservations.
The food subcommittee is also responsible for making sure there
are enough plates, silverware, napkins, and drinking straws, even
if it is the simple task of informing the family members to bring
their own.
Activities Subcommittee
The Activities subcommittee decides what everyone else is supposed
to do at the reunion. This includes activities (Mister Spiffy says
‘duh’), games, a program (where the kids stand up and make a
valiant attempt to sing), or a church service. They are in charge
of planning the activities, making sure all the equipment is there
and in a functioning and unbroken state, and printing up the
certificates and awards for the various winners of various awards.
They are also in charge of finding volunteers (or forcing
volunteers) to run the games and activities if they can’t (or don't
want to) do it themselves. This subcommittee is one of the most
time-consuming jobs of a family reunion, so make sure you have
enough family members to do the job, and do it right. If you want
a job done right (but you’re too lazy to do it yourself), you’ll
just have to settle for imperfections. Nobody’s perfect.
Communications Subcommittee
This subcommittee is responsible for managing the address list and
mailing all the various invitations and follow-up reminders. Now,
Mister Spiffy had to take a class in Communications to get his
Family Reunion Doctoring Diploma, so he knows this quite well. If
you decide to send a survey out to find out what kind of reunion
the family is interested in, he suggests that you have the
communications group take care of it, and just report the results
to the Big Important Committee.
Fundraising Subcommittee
The Fundraising subcommittee is in charge of planning and carrying
out the varying fundraising activities for the reunion. These can
include auctions, raffles, cakewalks, or other more bizarre ideas
you could come up with that Mister Spiffy hasn’t suggested. They
are also in charge of obtaining any items needed for any of the
fundraising activities, or for contacting family members if items
liked baked goods or homemade crafts are needed. They will work
very closely with the financial committee.
Family History Subcommittee
The Family History subcommittee is responsible for collecting
family memorabilia for display at the reunion. This committee
can create a large wall chart with family members’ names to hang
on the wall for guests to see how they are related to each other
(Mister Spiffy suggests decorating it with bright colors, so as
to hold the interest of our younger guests). If changes or
additions need to be made to the wall chart, the family history
subcommittee will be in charge of updating the chart for the next
reunion ("Someday… someday, we’re going to get this thing right").
If any research side trips are planned, it is this committee
which takes care of the details.
Photography Subcommittee
Mister Spiffy loves photography. Did I mention that he took a
class on it a few summers ago? Well, he did, and now he
considers himself the guru of advice on the subject. I never go
near him with a camera anymore, because I know I’ll never get away
in less than two hours. But, I digress. The Photography
subcommittee is responsible for making sure the reunion is fully
documented photographically. They should make sure there is a
photographer attending, whether it is a family member who is
semi-talented with a camera or a professional who actually knows
what he’s doing. (Hint – Mister Spiffy is not a professional).
Once the photos are developed, the committee is responsible for
noting which family members are in each picture.
If a video is to be made of the reunion, this committee also has
the responsibility for lining up a camcorder or hiring someone
to create the video tape. If they neglect to do so, they may have
to answer to the Big Important Committee – and that’s never pretty.
After the reunion, the photography subcommittee should make copies
of the photos or video available to family members, and decide
on a price that will cover the cost (or, perhaps, Mister Spiffy
says with a knowing smile, make a little profit for the next year’s
reunion).
Accomodations Subcommittee
The Accommodations subcommittee is responsible for finding
accommodations for visiting guests, such as hotels, motels,
nearby Dumpsters, et cetera. Okay, never mind the Dumpsters.
Anyway, they can negotiate for blocks of rooms or discounts to
pass on to the family members (yeah, that’s right – you want
some sneaky people on this one). If camping, this subcommittee
should make the reservations for the campsites, or tell the family
members how to make their own reservations.
Welcoming Subcommittee
The Welcoming subcommittee is responsible for welcoming the
guests to the reunion (is it just me, or is Mister Spiffy getting
less creative with his committee naming?). They are the ones who
print all those nametags nobody will wear, and who meet the
guests at the front door. They should perform any of the planned
welcoming traditions (such as a lei at a Hawaiian-themed reunion,
a noisemaker at a birthday party-themed reunion, a prick in the
bottom with a cactus at a Western-themed reunion, et cetera).
Setup and Cleanup Subcommittee
The Setup and Cleanup subcommittee is in charge of setting up
chairs, tables, and other items for the reunion. If items like
barbecue grills, picnic tables, grand pianos, large water
fountains or giant plastic palm trees are needed, they are
responsible for obtaining them as well, no matter what the cost.
They also get to (note that they don’t have to, they get to) hang
up any decorations or banners.
At the end of the reunion, this committee is responsible for
taking down the chairs and tables that they so painstakingly set
up for the Big Important Committee. They also pick up the general
area. The committee doesn’t have to do all the work themselves,
they can ask family members to help out as well. Sorry to
disappoint you.