Alumni Reunion Handbook
Dear Reunion Planners, Congratulations! You have reached a milestone in your affiliation with Norfolk Collegiate. Thank you so much for volunteering your time to help plan your upcoming class reunion. Reunions offer a special opportunity to share, reminisce, and catch up with people you spent many days with during your years at Norfolk Collegiate. Leading a successful reunion is a lot of work, but rewarding, as your class and the school will truly appreciate all of your efforts! Norfolk Collegiate would like to help support you in the planning process any way possible. We are able to provide a guide that will help you with all the steps along the way. Remember, this is just a guide... we encourage you to make this reunion your own and share your ideas with us as you go! If during the planning process you find that it would be beneficial to add information to this book, please let me know. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at cbrown@norfolkcollegiate.org or by phone at 757.480.2348 With Oak Pride,
Cayte Brown ’08 Alumni Relations Coordinator
table of contents Recipe for a successful reunion
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Promoting your reunion
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Reunion chair responsibilities
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Timeline
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How Norfolk Collegiate can help
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Reunion FAQs
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Ways to make your reunion memorable
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Points of contact
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recipe for a successful reunion
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Strong Attendance
The more people in attendance, the better the reunion! Aim to have at least 50% of your class in attendance at your reunion. If you are having a hard time getting responses from your classmates, don’t get discouraged... just do the best you can and keep trying!
Reunion Giving
Consider making a gift back to the school in honor of your class. Currently, many classes are working toward fundraising for a “class chair” in the Hackney Theater in the Meredith Center for the Arts. This is a gift that will be a part of our school forever! For more information, please see the back of this handbook.
Have Fun
Planning your reunion shouldn’t be stressful! Recruit some help from fellow classmates, hold planning sessions over cocktails, and when you get to your reunion and see all of your classmates catching up, you will remember why you put in all of that hard work!
promoting your reunion Create a Facebook event. Make sure to invite all of your classmates and Norfolk Collegiate so we know the details of your reunion. Facebook is a great tool to get in touch with classmates you may not have seen in a while. Remember to invite Norfolk Collegiate to your event so we can publicize the reunion as well.
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Sending out save the date cards is the best way to allow your classmates to plan in advance and make sure they keep their calendars open for the date of the reunion. Make a hashtag for the event and consider using www.splashthat.com to publicize your reunion. Splash allows you to track RSVP’s, collect money, and create a hashtag that will store all photos posted from the reunion!
reunion chair responsibilites
Active, exciting, and involved reunion chairs are crucial to a successful reunion! We cannot thank you enough for volunteering your time to give back to your alma mater. Below are some the responsibilites included with being a reunion chair.
Maintain your class roster and update the lost alumni list. Any updates should be sent to Norfolk Collegiate for our records Send out a “save the date� card, letter, or email Organize and plan the class reunion with your committee Research reunion location Decide on cost of reunion & ticket price (if any) Send out invitations to your classmates Collect ticket money, if applicable, prior to reunion or day of reunion Send pictures to Norfolk Collegiate after your reunion to display on our website
If you have any questions about the responsibilities above, please contact Cayte Brown at cbrown@norfolkcollegiate.org or call the development office at 757.480.2348
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timeline February-April: 6-8 months before Establish reunion committee and roles Collaborate with classmates on reunion ideas and locations Research pricing and develop a budget Collect updated information and report back to Norfolk Collegiate
May-July: 3-5 months before Finalize location, price and menu for the reunion Send “save the dates” to classmates with reunion information Create a Facebook event for the reunion and add classmates. Share event with Norfolk Collegiate on Facebook via message. Report to Cayte Brown, alumni relations coordinator, on the status of the reunion
August: 2 months before 4-6 weeks in advance, mail invitations and request RSVPs two weeks before reunion Contact Norfolk Collegiate if you prefer us to design and mail invitations Decide on theme, decorations, and/or favors for guests Post updates on Facebook Event
September: 1 month before
Collect photographs for slideshow or picture display Post updates, pictures from high school, encourage people to share stories on the Facebook event
October: month of event Reach out to classmates that have not RSVP’d Confirm details with the venue Ensure any deposits are paid (if necessary)
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how Norfolk Collegiate can help We are here to help you in any way possible. Here are some of the ways we are able to make your reunion the best it can be. • Provide the most up-to-date class roster with addresses, emails, and phone numbers • Publicize your reunion information on Norfolk Collegiate’s website and social media • Set up 1-on-1 meetings with Cayte Brown to brainstorm ideas • Design and mail invitations, if needed • Provide location for reunion committee to meet and plan the reunion • Lend pictures from the archives to display at reunion • Provide Norfolk Collegiate give-a-way gift for guests • Coordinate with faculty members (current or past) on reunion
reunion FAQs
Who pays for my reunion?
Funding is solely supported by the tickets that your classmates will purchase.
When should the reunion take place?
The reunions should take place on the Saturday of Homecoming & Fall Fair Weekend. If you are planning on hosting your reunion on another date, please inform Cayte Brown.
We sent out our invitations/save the date...whose return address do we use?
Whoever is handling the RSVPs for your party should include their return address on the envelope.
Where should we have our reunion?
You can have the reunion at a restaurant, bar, Norfolk Collegiate or a classmate’s house. For more help with reunion locations, please contact Cayte Brown.
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ways to make your reunion memorable
Take a walk down memory lane
Everyone loves to reminisce about old memories. Have a table set up with pictures from your high school years, make a slideshow or bring yearbooks (Norfolk Collegiate can provide).
Give-a-ways
Norfolk Collegiate will provide a give-a-way gift to all in attendance. Feel free to provide your own as well!
Take pictures
Take pictures at the reunion, and Norfolk Collegiate will post photos taken at the reunion our website and Facebook, so be sure to take lots of photos. Being able to look back on your reunions in years to come is important.
Invite teachers & staff
Faculty and staff love the opportunity to catch up with their former students! Please let us know if you would like to invite any particular faculty members, past or present.
Provide name tags
It has probably been a few years since you have seen some of your classmates, so please remember to provide name tags to all guests.
Give a class gift
What better way to keep your legacy at Norfolk Collegiate alive than through a gift? There are many opportunities for giving back to Norfolk Collegiate, including the Annual Fund, the Take-A-Seat campaign, arts and athletics and more. For more information, please visit www.norfolkcollegiate.org/giving.
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points of contact Cayte Merryman Brown '08 Alumni Relations Coordinator 757.480.2348 ext. 1146 cbrown@norfolkcollegiate.org Michelle Adcock Director of Development 757.480.2348 ext. 1128 michelle.adcock@norfolkcollegiate.org Kate Pringle Annual Fund & Special Events Manager 757.480.2348 ext. 1141 kpringle@norfolkcollegiate.org Scott Kennedy Headmaster & President 757.480.1495 skennedy@norfolkcollegiate.org
schedule of events Oyster Roast & Taste of Collegiate
Friday, October 23, 2015 | 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. | Outside of the Meredith Center for the Arts | 21 + years
Homecoming Athletic Games
Friday & Saturday, October 23 & 24, 2015
Fall Fair
Saturday, October 24, 2015 | 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Middle School Gymnasium, Fields & Parking Lots
Alumni Reunions for Classes ending in 0’s and 5’s
Visit www.NorfolkCollegiate.org/ClassReunions for more information
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