Get out and dust off the trusty old Excel spreadsheet, get the guest list entered then begin hunting down the lucky chosen. This can be really easy, especially with family, but it can also be very challenging.
Some years ago I organised a reunion of my school class, 120 guys. What a mission.
After several months of serious sleuthing I had tracked down all but a few, found several were no longer with us and then began writing to people all over the world. The things I will do for a party.
The reunion went well, of course, with the help of one other organiser-maniac. Old friendships long paused were rekindled. About half the class attended - not bad for nearly 50 years of not seeing each other.
There is fun in organising venues, pricing catering, organising accommodation, tours and transport, dealing with the multitude of issues that arise when getting a reunion under way. Well, I find it fun but maybe not everybody does.
I have now reached the stage where I go to reunions and quietly critique the organisation. Would I have done things differently? I keep my thoughts to myself of course but always learn something that I can use in the future.
As an organiser there is no time to actually relax completely at any reunion or party; things must tick along and it is down to one or two individuals to make sure that happens. I have found it is important to pick your organising crew well; you do not want the self-important, the power-hungry or the know-all. You just want people who are hard-working, loyal and competent.
I have, unfortunately, helped organise reunions where someone on the team decides to go off on a tangent, veering away from the plan. These people must be confronted early and sorted politely. A mental note is also made to never use these individuals again for future events, too hard.
There seems to be a common belief that only the nerdy of any organisation are keen on organising reunions and only they and the big personalities or self-considered successes of any class or work group will attend.
In my experience this is wrong, especially if the organisers were actually not the nerds or the big deals. People invited will feel more comfortable if they were always able to relate to the organising crew. There is nothing more unappealing than rocking up at a reunion, especially a school reunion, where all the boring bright sparks dominate and wondering why the heck one bothered.
Trying to have a conversation with someone who, many years later, is still as aloof, pompous or distracted as they were when young is boring. I have been tempted to accidentally pour my beer down their front or over their heads just to excite them. I don't of course, I'm too polite, but I am playing it out in my head as a possible option to liven the party up.
Of course, after the event the organiser's job is still busy, paying the bills, cleaning up the venue, dealing with complaints and lost property and returning borrowed gear to its owners.
I find it simply wonderful to talk to people who I have not seen for decades and learn about them, what they have done, maybe what went wrong. I am constantly amazed at the achievements of many who, as young people, I would never have thought would do so well. I am also saddened to hear that some potential high-fliers never quite reached the heights.
In terms of school reunions, it is true that many people who found formal schooling perhaps difficult or tedious go on to have extremely successful lives once freed from the formality of rules and class pecking orders.
It can also be sobering to hear what people thought of you as a younger person or at school, making a comparison to now.
