Once you have formed a committee there are a few basic questions you will need to answer:
When are you going to have your reunion?
Where are you going to have your reunion?
What will you do at the reunion?
Who will you invite?
How many people do you plan on attending?
When?
Picking a date for the reunion can be difficult. You will want to make sure that you pick at least 3 possible dates. This way, you have options in case one date will not work for the place you want to hold your reunion.
Things to think about—what the weather may be like during that time of year (do you want it inside or outside), think about what holidays are near (if you pick a Saturday during Labor Day weekend for example-people may be out of town), and school events (look to see when events are happening at Bishop DuBourg and have your classmates attend a game, then have the reunion on a Saturday). You can contact the Advancement Office for a schedule of events.
Since your reunion is a rare opportunity for your classmates to gather, (and many may have to travel) you may want to think about planning more than one reunion event. You can celebrate the weekend. This would work well especially if you are celebrating a milestone such as the 25th or 50th reunion. We have had many reunions plan a Friday night fun activity (such as attending a football game at the school), plan a Saturday night dinner, and then a brunch or mass on Sunday. There are many different activities that you can do throughout a weekend.
Where?
You may want to hold your reunion at Bishop DuBourg High School. Coming back to where it all started, you can see your old classrooms, tour the school and see all the changes that have been made since you were a student here, and most of all you can have a GREAT time!
Reunions may be held in
The Cafeteria- which holds approximately 400 people ****Recommended
The Cafeteria is air-conditioned and includes the kitchen
The Lobby- which holds approximately 150 people
The Lobby is not air-conditioned
The Gym- which can hold around 400 people
The Gym is not air-conditioned
(the gym is recommended for really large groups)
The Theatre- which can hold around 150-200 people
The Theatre is air-conditioned
Availability depends on the time of year
The following is available for us at the school- 26 8ft rectangular tables that can seat 8-10 people each and 16 5ft round tables that seat 8 people each. Chairs are available for use as well. There are also ice machines and coat racks available. A beer meister for your keg is available to you upon request.
When planning a reunion at Bishop DuBourg, remember that the school’s schedule is set at least 6 months prior to the beginning of the school year, so you will want to book your date as soon as possible.
There is no rental fee to hold your reunion at school! The only fee charged to the reunion committee will be a cleaning fee of $100 in cash. This fee is due 2 days prior to the reunion. This fee needs to be turned into the Advancement Office. It is the reunion committee’s responsibility to collect and bag trash and decorations. Maintenance will clean the facility and dispose of trash after the reunion. We require at least one maintenance person to be present during the reunion, along with a representative from the Alumni Office. He/she will open the building up for your decorating committee, workers, caterers, DJ, etc., and will be available throughout the event, in case questions or concerns arise during the reunion. We do try to be good neighbors, so reunions that are held at the school, must end by 11:00 pm.
For a list of caterers, please see the list included with the packet. Many of the caterers on the list have worked at the school before and know their way around. If you use a caterer other than Food Service Consultants, you must coordinate with the school, the use of our kitchen.
Or you may choose to hold your reunion off campus. There are a variety of places to hold your reunion. For small reunions or 5 year reunions a common place to hold them is the park for a picnic. This helps to lower the cost and make the reunion more casual and welcoming. There are many other places to look into also—ballgame outing, nightclub outing, city/historical tour, Six Flags, the Zoo, restaurants, banquet halls, and much more. You will want to call around and get quotes from more than one venue. Remember that usually as your group gets bigger, your price per person gets smaller. You may want to call the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission for information on venues that hold large numbers of people. For more information call Renee M. Eichelberger at (800) 640-4218 or (314) 992-0643 or send her an email at reichelberger@explorestlouis.com. And you may visit www.explorestlouis.com. For a list of contacts please see the list included in the packet.
What?
What activities will you be planning for your reunion?
Things you will want to consider: What attire do you wish for everyone to wear?
Will there be a mass? If so, where?
Will you want a DJ, a band, etc?
Do you want a theme?
Do you want a sit-down dinner, a buffet, or snacks?
Will you need AV Equipment for slide show, etc?
Price?
One thing to keep in mind is that whatever you do and whatever you get, make sure you include it in your price for attendees. A good rule of thumb is to add 10-15% on top of your total for any unforeseen costs.
When looking at pricing for your reunion, think about your audience. If you are planning a 5 year reunion, you may want a more low key and less expensive ticket price. If you are planning a 50 year, you may want it to be more special.
Who?
Do you want to invite former teachers from Bishop DuBourg that your class had while attending? You can contact the Advancement Office for their contact information.
Do you want to invite the present administration at Bishop DuBourg? You can contact the Advancement Office for their contact information.
Something to consider--do you want to have a family picnic and invite families or just have a gathering of the class and their spouses?
You may even want to look into having a cluster reunion, where you invite a class or two below you and a class or two above you. This option would interest classes who knew each other really well.
How Many?
The reunions that attract the most people are usually the milestone reunions such as the 10, 25, and 50. These will be the reunions that you will want to plan big things for. Usually the 5 year reunion is small so something simple would work best for this one.