Planning a military reunion brings service friends together, affirms strong bonds and allows attendees to share their experiences. Reunions can be emotional and uplifting for visitors, and organizing the perfect reunion event is crucial. Our guide outlines the essential criteria of planning a reunion, including top tips and military reunion ideas to create a momentous event.
How to Plan a Military Reunion
A military reunion requires meticulous attention to detail and excellent organizational skills. From choosing a central location venue to transportation, selecting a date and activities, a reunion must cater to all attendees for full attendance. Here are the key points of the planning process to cover:
Gather a Team
Planning an event on your own is challenging. With various aspects to organize and manage, bringing together trustworthy people to form a committee of reunion planners will help you feel less overwhelmed. Start planning one year to 18 months ahead. Once you create a planning committee, discuss and assign roles for each person. Here are some roles you might want to include:
- The treasurer deals with the finances of the reunion, including paying the venue, securing sponsorship, paying vendors and managing the reunion budget.
- The chair manages all aspects of the military reunion and serves as the primary point of contact for advice and inquiries.
- The activity organizer plans the reunion agenda, including all activities, ceremonies and entertainment.
- The communications coordinator creates all communications for the reunion, from invitations to sending updates to attendees.
- The location manager suggests ideas for the reunion event location, taking into account factors such as ease of access, parking, accommodations, and transportation.
- The transportation supervisor organizes the transportation for groups to and from the reunion event location.
Target Your Military Reunion Audience
Decide on the agenda based on the invited military attendees. Ensuring that every committee member has a clear understanding of the guest list demographic helps form the agenda and all key details. Discuss whether military family members are also welcome and if the event is formal or casual. Consider the different military unit attendees — such as the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard — to gauge the finer event details.
Finalize a Date and Location
It may take some time to choose a convenient location and date that fits well with schedules. To ensure you are covering all bases for guest attendance and accessibility, think about the following key points:
- Significant dates: Selecting an appropriate date is crucial for achieving the highest attendance rate. Depending on the military units, think about important anniversary dates to bring people together.
- Family commitments: Although anniversaries hold significance, weigh up the possibility of prior attendee commitments, such as spending an anniversary or holiday with family members. Additionally, travel prices during the holidays often increase.
- Suitable venues: The venue you choose is the foundation for how the event will unfold. Prioritize destinations and hotels with prior experience in hosting military reunions and similar events.
- Parking: For attendees, nothing is more frustrating than arriving at an event with limited parking. Ensure the venues you consider have ample parking to make people feel comfortable leaving their cars.
- Accessibility: Military reunion events should be accessible for everyone, regardless of their accessibility needs. Check that your chosen venue has wheelchair access and elevators for guests who may find stairs challenging to navigate.
Develop a Budget
Before booking a venue and organizing entertainment, ensure you create a budget that is both practical and reasonable. Without setting a budget, it is easy to get carried away with finalizing details and not considering the funds. Discuss a final figure for the reunion and segment this budget for the varying areas, such as food, entertainment, venue hire and transportation.
For raising funding, consider reaching out to veteran-friendly companies for sponsorship opportunities. Applying for grants from veteran funds and hosting fundraising events can also bring in the necessary funds for your reunion. Set up a spreadsheet to track your reunion finances.
Consider Transportation Links
Transportation must be accessible to the venue’s location. Think about the attendees traveling from out of town, the proximity to the airport and options from the accommodation to the venue. If a group is traveling from another state, consider running a group transfer from the airport to their accommodation and venue.
For attendees who live closer to the venue, weigh up the public transportation services available in case they are unable to drive. Locate the nearest train or bus station, the distance to the venue from the station and the modes of transportation.
Weigh Accommodation Options
Research nearby accommodation options, from hotels and motels to guest houses and short-term rental availability. Ideally, the venue also offers meeting room options. Having everything under one roof makes the reunion go a lot smoother. Depending on the number of attendees, search for venues with guest rooms to accommodate the entire guest list. Ensuring all guests can stay in the same place helps form a community and build friendships.
Activity Agenda and Food
A military reunion is an excellent opportunity for old friends to reconnect and develop new friendships. To create memorable experiences, think about the type of activities, which may include:
- Welcome drinks: Break the ice with a drinks reception. Offer a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages to cater to all guests.
- Group dinner: Organizing a formal dinner or a casual meal brings together old and new friends, accompanied by speeches and awards.
- Memorial service: A key event of a reunion is a memorial service. The service may include touches such as a flag-folding ceremony or lighting candles of remembrance.
- Tours and talks: Depending on the venue location, organize a tour of a local memorial or museum. Organize talks from military personnel to keep the group engaged.
- Family-themed activities: If family members, including children, are also welcome, think about some family-themed activities to include all attendees. Scheduling free time for attendees will also allow them to relax in between activities.
- Photo opportunities: Hiring a professional photographer or designating a committee member to take photos is an excellent way for attendees to reminisce about their time at the reunion. Make copies of images for everyone before they return home.
Set up Communication and Registration
Setting up a simple registration process makes all attendees feel included and valued. Once you send out the invitations, create an online form for attendees to register their interest in attending. Be sure to ask for dietary and accessibility requirements. Within the invitations, include an RSVP deadline and schedule dates to send email reminders.
Decide on a central platform, such as Facebook, to post updates about the reunion event, allowing attendees and family members to stay informed. Email newsletters are another effective way to keep attendees informed about event details.
Collect Decorative Memorabilia
Touches of military decoration and memorabilia instantly lift the spirit of the reunion and help attendees create cherished memories. Set up displays of medals, caps, coins and photograph exhibits to captivate attendees and start interesting conversations. Also, consider the color theme and check with the venue to see if it is possible to display your own decorations.
Memorabilia pieces create perfect gifts for attendees to reflect on their experiences at the reunion. The treasurer may receive a generous donation from a veteran-friendly company to provide gifts when raising funds.
Keep in Touch
Once the reunion comes to an end, ensure you promote everyone to stay in touch. By creating a group on social media and sending regular newsletters, both old and new friends can keep in touch and make plans to meet in the future. Opening communication channels for attendees makes the planning process for future reunions easier.
Plan a Military Reunion at MCC
Discover our exceptional military reunion space to host our gathering. The Maritime Conference Center is an all-in-one event venue and hotel. Our space accommodates your overnight guests for optimum comfort throughout the reunion. There are two areas to host the event. The auditorium holds over 280 guests, and the memorabilia room includes items of particular interest to the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.
Catering and dining options are also available, where attendees can enjoy a delicious menu with the option of wine, beer, cocktails and spirits. During free time, the center is conveniently near Baltimore, offering opportunities for sightseeing and day trips. Complimentary parking is available for all attendees. Start planning your military reunion event today!
