Mini reunions are fun, but class reunions can be a big hassle. That’s right—sometimes those big, formal class reunions can become a major headache for everyone involved, including the old schoolmates who choose to attend it. Don’t get me wrong here. I think it’s exceptionally important for schoolmates to get together and to reconnect. But I’m no longer so sure that a formal class reunion is the best way to it.
I started to realize this at my last class reunion. I graduated from high school in 1971, so my old class goes back away. Like most schools, my peers had friends in the grade before us and the one behind us, so some of those folks were there as well. We wound up with a pretty good turnout. My guess is that about 200 people or so actually showed up.
Of course the run up to this massive event made planning a major military campaign look easy, and was probably more dangerous. There were a lot of things to decide, and a lot of things to argue about. So as we were moving along, decisions were made and arguments happened. It’s all part of the process.
We got it all together though and held our huge event. But like most of the things that you invest a lot of energy and time in planning though—and that you really begin to anticipate and look forward to—after all of that hard work and excitement, the class reunion itself was a bit of a let down. It’s not necessarily easy for me to say that because I played a major role in putting it together. But the reality is that it was a let down—it just wasn’t as much fun as everybody thought it would be.
Don’t get me wrong, we all enjoyed ourselves and had a pretty good time. But when we all actually got together, face to face, you could just tell that some folks really didn’t want to be there. Since I’m not a bashful guy and I’ve always been known as someone who speaks his mind, I wanted to know why some folks weren’t all that happy with the event.
The answers were pretty interesting. Probably the most common reason was that some folks didn’t really like some of the other folks—the same kind of petty rivalries and perceptions that exist any time 3 or more people get together. So that one was to be expected.
What I wasn’t expecting were the other things that were bothering people. They were complaining about the cost of attending the class reunion. They complained about all of the effort it took to get there. Some didn’t like the food, and some didn’t like the band. And although this is to be expected at any event like this, I was a little surprised, especially since I had invested so much of me into making it happen.
That’s why I’ve changed my approach. From here on in I’m sticking with mini reunions. They’re much easier to plan and to hold, and better yet, they’re a lot more fun to attend.
In my next post, I’ll tell you why.
Hi Steve -
As someone who has participated in both formal reunions and mini-reunions, I have to whole-heartedly agree with you on the benefit of mini-reunions. The formal reunions are nice – but getting the back-room of a local Pizzeria Uno turned out to be the most fun. I meet some old padres before-hand and had a few beers and a bite to eat. We joined a bigger group at the Pizzeria and had fun reconnecting, reminiscing – and sometimes getting to know classmates I only knew by name. They’ve had 2 since that first one – and though I couldn’t make them, I’ll be at a future one for sure.
- Glad to see you are blogging, Steve. Looking forward to following!
Steve;
I guess we don’t show enough appreciation…
You’re probably right; but thanks again for all of the effort that you put in for the multi-class reunion. I especially appreciated it, since we did not have one for our class. Not living in the area any more, it gave me a chance to see some of the people from both classes, that I may never see again.
Once again, “great job” to you and your crew. Would be glad to help in any future efforts you and your crew plan.