2. Staff/Volunteer Support
• Alumni Office
• Timothy State ’93, Associate Vice President
• Suzanne Zeddies Nyren ’73, P’99, P’03, Senior Director
• Will Pittinos ’06, Web Content Manager
• Dolores Lotysz, Department Assistant
• Other Staff Members
• Portia Lowe, Associate Athletic Director
• Kent Weimer, Senior Director of Gift Planning
• Alumni Board, Alumni Relations Co-Chairs
Co-
• Jenny Amoroso Bojrab ’97
• Jessica Gardner ’93
3. Committee Liaisons
Reunion Board/Staff Liaison
1950 Paula Dau ’58, Margaret Wilhelm ’58, WEIMER
1960 Paula Dau ’58, Margaret Wilhelm ’58, WEIMER
1965 Jessica Gardner ’93, NYREN
1968 Mary Diaz ’68, NYREN
1970 Nancy Wolters ’70, NYREN
1975 Jenny Bojrab ’97, NYREN
1980 Jenny Bojrab ’97, STATE
1985 Richard Baynes ’08, STATE
1990 Jessica Gardner ’93, STATE
1995 Jerome Pellack ’06, STATE
2000 Beth Liebschutz ’00, NYREN
2005 Tim Tierney ’08, NYREN
Volleyball LOWE, STATE
Alumni of Color Jenny Bojrab ’97, STATE
4. Homecoming
October 7-9, 2010
Over 4,000 alumni, parents and friends gather for Homecoming.
13. Reunion Dinner Dance
Classes sit together at a combined
reunion dinner . . .
. . . before dancing the night away.
14. Reunion Committee Role
• Most important role:
• Connect with your
classmates
• Inform them about reunion
events
• Enthusiastically encourage
them to return to campus
• Only you, as a classmate,
can do this effectively
• Each reunion class may
decide to plan a low-key
low-
class-
class-specific event on Friday
evening.
15. Reunion Committee Role
• College provides many resources to make your job easy and
fun
• Class lists with contact information
• Gateway: Individual pages, resources, and Planning Guide
• Best Practices from previous years including list of reunion
friendly locations
• Save-The-Date E-mails and Monthly E-News
Save-The- E- E-
• Stationery, envelopes, postage
• Conference Call Bridge
• Web Meetings
• Alumni Board liaison and staff contact
• If there is anything we can do to make your job more
effective, let us know
16. Your Reunion Committee
• Best committees reflect the
diversity of your class, as
well as geographic diversity.
• Reunion planning is done
via conference calls and
e-mails.
mails.
• Volunteers can work tasks
into their busy schedule.
• Have fun!
17. Be sold ~ So You Can Sell
• Plan now to attend as much
of Homecoming & Reunion
as possible
• Friday events
• Your reunion events
• Saturday’s Homecoming
• Saturday evening dinner
• If you’re not sold, no one
else will be either
18. Reunion Nerves
• Natural to have anxiety about
connecting with people
• Reunions are a chance to
celebrate your common past
• Reunions are a time to
contemplate your experience
with Lake Forest College, and
how it is connected to your
life today
• Reunions are a time to forge
new friendships, and build
new networks, with people
who share a significant
experience
19. Planning Timeline
• October - December
• Committee Liaisons work with Alumni Office to choose Committee
Chairs and volunteers
• Class-
Class-specific e-mail broadcast asking for volunteers
e-
• Webinar Training for all volunteers
• Committees hold first conference call to catch-up.
catch-
• January
• Reunion chairs determine best times and frequency for meeting
• Class-
Class-specific e-mail broadcast
• Breakdown class list among committee members and begin one-on-one
one-on-
contact to classmates
• February
• Discuss outreach strategies and results
• Continue contacting classmates
• Determine individual reunion gatherings
20. Planning Timeline
• March
• Reunion details finalized for marketing
• Discuss outreach strategies and results
• April – May
• Discuss outreach strategies and results
• June – July
• Class-
Class-specific e-mail sent
• Brochure drops
• Continue contacting classmates
• Discuss outreach strategies and results
• Pre-register for Homecoming and Reunion
Pre-
21. Planning Timeline
• August
• E-mail campaign begins
• Continue contacting classmates and
encourage registration
• Discuss outreach strategies and results
• September
• E-mail campaign continues
• Continue contacting classmates and
encourage registration
• October
• October 7-9: Celebrate your success at
7-
Homecoming
• Thank your classmates for coming
23. Who to Contact
• Work with your committee to divide and conquer class list
• It is almost certain you will be reaching out to classmates
you did not know or did not remember; remember you have
a shared history
• Use yearbooks, scrapbooks, the Alumni Gateway, Spectrum,
Spectrum,
and other College memorabilia to refresh your memory
• Do not focus too much energy on “lost” classmates; they
are lost because they want to be. Focus on those we know
how to connect with
24. Dividing the Class List
Secondary
Nickname
Primary
Contact
Contact
Last First Birth
Name Name Name Email Phone Major Notes
Amie: Tim was
the same major
as me. Jessica:
Tim & I wrote
together on
State Timothy Tim state@lakeforest.edu 847-735-6025 Sociology Jessica Amie Stentor for 4 yrs
Jenny: Suzanne
& I lived together
2 yrs. Jessica:
Suzanne & I had
a politics class
Nyren Suzanne nyren@lakeforest.edu 847-735-6025 English Jenny Jessica together.
Marz: Jenny & I
were sorority
pledge sisters.
Tim T: I was
Jenny's RA
Bojrab Jennifer Amoroso Jenny jennybojrab@hotmail.com 317-679-4622 Spanish Marz Tim T. Senior year.
Paula: We were
both psych
Gardner Jessica jgardner@marykay.com 847-398-3202 Psych Paula majors
25. One-on-
One-on-one Contacts
• Over the phone
• Know why you’re calling
• Give them permission to not remember you
• “This is Jessica Gardner from Lake Forest College Class of 1993. You
may or may not remember me.”
• Get updated information or encourage them to visit the
Gateway to update their information
• These are fun calls; your attitude determines success
• Via E-mail
E-
• Personalize
• Use e-mail etiquette (to vs. cc vs. bcc)
e-
• Encourage them to use the Gateway to learn more
26. E-mail Blasts
• College staff send “Save-the-date” and monthly E-
“Save-the- E-
News event reminders, and any other targeted e-mails
e-
you want to send.
• You can compose the content of the e-mails
e-
• E-mail blasts do not take the place of one-on-one
one-on-
contact – you are what helps the College “know you by
name.”
27. Written Letters
• Written letter with personal signatures and notes from
committee members can break the ice and have a
powerful impact
• Letters help set the tone of celebration for the weekend
• The Alumni Office can assist you in the production
and mailing of letters
• Sample letters are available on the Gateway
28. Final Word on the
Class Lists
• The Class Lists are meant to be used exclusively for
planning your Class Reunion and the information is
confidential.
• Please do not share the list with anyone. If a classmate
requests information on another classmate, offer to
send that person’s information to the other alum
instead.
• Please refrain from using the list for marketing
purposes for your own businesses.
29. The Gateway
• http://alumni.lakeforest.edu
• Create your own profile and submit Class Notes
• Class Notes breed Class Notes, and are posted in the
E-News as well as the next Spectrum
• Each Reunion will have its own page; you can
customize it as you desire
• The Alumni Office will assist you in maintaining your
page; discuss with staff how you can add interactive
features
30. Individual class Gatherings
• Do you want one?
• Timing: Friday evening
• Attendance: 10% attendance is excellent
• Location
• Campus locations first-come, first-booked and can be the most
first- first-
economical
• Costs
• Funded by Classmates
• Flat fee included in registration ($30 max) or individual tabs
• Keep costs affordable for all classmates; consider travel
classmates;
• Other Ideas – Slide shows, memorabilia, invite faculty
31. Alumni Board Awards
• Recognize alumni who have
made notable contributions
to society and the College
• Reunion Committees are
welcome to make
nominations
• Alumni Office will vet
nominations
• Alumni Board makes final
determination of award Generally, alumni celebrating
recipients reunions are recognized.
32. Reunion class gifts
• The 50th Class Reunion has started a tradition of making
a gift to create an endowed scholarship
• Other select reunion classes have committed to a class
gift for projects that provide budget relief
• With alumni backing, any reunion class can raise funds
for a class gift
• Staff is available to support alumni in raising class gifts
• The key is our alumni driving the effort
33. Next Steps
1. Create or update your Alumni Gateway Profile and add
a Class Note to begin promoting your reunion.
2. Review the Reunion Planning Guide and other materials
available on the Gateway.
3. Your Board Liaison will contact you to schedule a time
to meet with your reunion committee in December to
catch-
catch-up. Think of it as a holiday party over the phone.
Outcome of call: Schedule 1st “official” meeting in
January and set a timetable.
34. Questions?
Have Fun!
Volunteers Make Reunions Happen!