A large task for family reunion organizers is to manage communications with family members. Family reunion organizers must know who to contact, how to contact them, what information to communicate and when, as well as effective tools and methods to communicate.
Create a Family Reunion Contact List
Once you have created a list of relatives you want to invite, reach out to at least one person from each family branch to obtain or validate the contact information (name, postal address, email, phone number) for all those on your list. Ask them for information about people you are missing or may not know are part of the family. Be sure to collect family members’ email addresses, as sending broadcast emails is an easy, efficient, and economical way to share information and provide quick updates. It is also a good idea to record how each family member prefers to receive communications (postal mail, email, family reunion website, or telephone).
Maintain a Family Reunion Contact List
It is important to maintain a family reunion contact list. If a family member intentionally omits a family member from an invitation to a family reunion, it may cause hurt feelings or create long-term family issues. Assign one person or a committee the responsibility of maintaining the names and contact information of family members. It is also critical to keep one list as the “system of record”. It is a bad practice to maintain multiple contact lists or to have multiple family members maintain different lists, as it is highly likely to create inaccurate records.
Maintain a Family Reunion Contact List
It is important to maintain a family reunion contact list. If a family member intentionally omits a family member from an invitation to a family reunion, it may cause hurt feelings or create long-term family issues. Assign one person or a committee the responsibility of maintaining the names and contact information of family members. It is also critical to keep one list as the “system of record”. It is a bad practice to maintain multiple contact lists or to have multiple family members maintain different lists, as it is highly likely to create inaccurate records.