Building the Committee
Class Reunion Committee Roles: Chair, Treasurer, RSVPs, Day-Of Crew
The single biggest predictor of a great reunion isn't the budget, the venue, or the playlist — it's whether the committee is staffed with the right roles and the right people. Get this part right and the rest mostly takes care of itself. Get it wrong and you'll spend twelve months re-doing other people's tasks.
How Big Should the Committee Be?
For most classes, 5–7 committee members is the sweet spot. Below 5 and key roles double up and the chair becomes a bottleneck. Above 8 and decisions stall in debate. The exception is very large classes (400+ graduates) where you add sub-committee coordinators reporting to main role owners, keeping the core decision-making committee at 7.
Under 100 graduates
4–5 members
Treasurer + RSVP often combine.
100–400 graduates
5–7 members
All 7 core roles separated.
400+ graduates
7 core + 3 sub-coords
Add search, RSVP, comms sub-coordinators.
🎉 With Reunly
Add your committee members and assign roles in 60 seconds
Reunly's committee dashboard gives each role its own task list, deadline view, and accountability check-in.
Chair
The accountability layer. The chair owns the deadline, not the work.
Who to recruit
The classmate everyone respects who has organized something larger than a birthday — a wedding, a school auction, a fundraiser. They don't need to be the loudest. They need to be the most consistent.
Time commitment
Average 2 hours per week year-round. 6+ hours per week in the final 8 weeks. Plus the day-of: arrive 4 hours early, stay through cleanup.
Primary responsibilities
- Run the weekly 30-minute committee call (same time every week).
- Hold every role owner accountable for their weekly tasks.
- Sign every vendor contract alongside the treasurer.
- Resolve disagreements without dragging them into the full class group chat.
- Send the date announcement, the formal invite, and the day-of confirmation emails.
- Be the public face of the reunion — every classmate has the chair's contact info.
Watch out: Chairs who try to do every task themselves burn out by month 5 and quit. The chair's job is to keep other people moving, not to do the work.
Failure mode: Chair becomes the bottleneck. Decisions stall waiting for the chair to weigh in on a tablecloth color. Solution: pre-delegate clear authority to each role owner — they don't need the chair's permission inside their lane.
Treasurer
Owns every dollar in, every dollar out, and the bank reconciliation.
Who to recruit
A classmate with a finance, accounting, or operations background. Not necessarily a CPA — just someone who is comfortable with spreadsheets and has never bounced a check.
Time commitment
1 hour per week through Week 36. 2 hours per week from Week 36 through Week 8. 3 hours per week in the final 8 weeks. Plus the day-of: handles the venue final-bill settlement.
Primary responsibilities
- Open the separate reunion bank account with two signers (treasurer + chair).
- Track every deposit (tickets, sponsorships) and disbursement (vendors, supplies).
- Reconcile the bank account every 2 weeks once money starts flowing (Week 30 onward).
- Issue every payment — wire transfers and checks for deposits, debit card for small purchases.
- Hand the chair a one-page financial summary at every weekly meeting.
- Settle the venue's final bill on reunion night.
- Send the final P&L to the full committee within 14 days of the reunion.
Watch out: Never let reunion money flow through one person's personal Venmo, PayPal, or Zelle. It's an audit trail nightmare and it puts that classmate's personal credit at risk.
Failure mode: Treasurer goes dark for 4 weeks and reconciliation falls behind. Solution: the chair gets read-only access to the bank account so they can see what's happening even when the treasurer is slammed.
Communications Lead
Every outbound message — email, social, text — goes through this person.
Who to recruit
A classmate who writes well and who reads their inbox. Marketing, PR, journalism, or HR backgrounds are gold. The person doesn't need to be a designer — they need to be a writer.
Time commitment
1.5 hours per week through Week 27. 3 hours per week from Week 26 through Week 4. 5 hours per week in the final 4 weeks.
Primary responsibilities
- Draft and send every committee email (save-the-date, invite, RSVP closing, day-of confirmation, thank-you).
- Manage the Facebook group: pin announcements, moderate, post weekly nostalgia content.
- Manage the Instagram or other social channels if used.
- Build the reunion website with the chair (or set up the Reunly reunion page).
- Track open rates and unsubscribes. Maintain a clean contact list.
- Send the post-reunion thank-you and survey within 5 days of the event.
Watch out: Comms leads who post too much in the Facebook group burn out the audience. One scheduled post per week is the sweet spot. Three per week and people start muting the group.
Failure mode: Inconsistent voice across channels — email feels formal, Facebook feels casual, the website feels neither. Solution: one person owns every outbound channel. Even if a different committee member drafts a message, the comms lead has final edit.
RSVP / Registration Lead
Owns the RSVP form, the ticket sales, and the headcount data.
Who to recruit
Someone who likes spreadsheets and dashboards. Often the treasurer can double here for smaller classes; for classes over 200, this is its own role.
Time commitment
1 hour per week through Week 16. 3 hours per week from Week 16 onward. The role is heaviest in the 4-week window after the formal invite goes out.
Primary responsibilities
- Set up the online RSVP form (Reunly, Eventbrite, or Tito).
- Test the form on three devices before going live.
- Process refund requests and ticket transfers.
- Update the headcount spreadsheet weekly and share with the committee.
- Send the 'who's coming so far' social-proof emails at Week 8 and Week 4.
- Handle every 'I can't make it / can my spouse come / what about my kid' edge-case email.
- Build and print the final attendee list with last name + maiden name for check-in.
Watch out: Don't promise refunds on a specific timeline. Many committees promise 'full refund up to 30 days out' and then can't deliver because the venue already cashed the deposit. Promise refunds only on what you can actually deliver.
Failure mode: Headcount tracked in two places (the RSVP form and a separate spreadsheet) and they drift. Solution: single source of truth. The RSVP form is the headcount. Everything else is a view of that data, not a copy.
Classmate Search Lead
Finds the missing classmates. Owns the contact roster.
Who to recruit
A classmate who is well-connected, patient, and OK with being told no. Often someone with HR, recruiting, or sales background. Could also be a parent who 'still knows everyone in town.'
Time commitment
2 hours per week from Week 50 through Week 24, then tapering. Spike weeks: Weeks 48–44 (initial list build) and Weeks 24–20 (final public push).
Primary responsibilities
- Pull the official graduating class roster from the alumni office or registrar.
- Build the master classmate spreadsheet: name, maiden name, status, last-known contact.
- Run the social media sweep (Facebook search, LinkedIn, Instagram).
- Coordinate the volunteer 'class detectives' from the Facebook group.
- Publish the public missing-classmate list (in the Facebook group or behind a password on the website).
- Hand the final, updated roster to the next reunion's committee.
Watch out: Some classmates don't want to be found. Respect that. If two attempts to contact someone go unanswered, stop reaching out — and don't share their info even if you find it.
Failure mode: Search lead burns out at Week 30 because they're chasing every name personally. Solution: make this a public project. The Facebook group does 80% of the work if you let them.
Event Coordinator
Owns the venue, the vendors, the run sheet, and the day-of.
Who to recruit
Anyone who has planned a wedding, a corporate offsite, or a 50+ person event. Operations, hospitality, or events professional is ideal. Lives in or near the reunion city.
Time commitment
1 hour per week through Week 40. 2 hours per week from Week 40 through Week 12. 4 hours per week in the final 12 weeks. Day-of: arrive 4 hours early, stay through cleanup.
Primary responsibilities
- Lead venue selection. Tour the top 3 venues in person.
- Negotiate and sign vendor contracts (caterer, DJ, photographer, AV).
- Own the run sheet: every minute of the day, every owner, every prop.
- Coordinate every vendor on the day — arrival times, setup, briefings.
- Lead the day-of setup crew (3 hours before doors).
- Lead the day-of teardown crew (90 minutes after the event ends).
Watch out: Event coordinators who don't live in the reunion city become a problem at Week 12 when they can't run a site visit. Either pick a local coordinator or pair a remote coordinator with a local 'boots on the ground' helper.
Failure mode: Coordinator gets sick the week of the reunion. Solution: the assistant coordinator (or chair) reviews the run sheet at Week 4 so they can run the show cold if needed.
Day-Of Crew (4–6 volunteers)
Not full committee members. Recruited 4 weeks out for setup, check-in, and teardown.
Who to recruit
Classmates who want to help but don't want a 12-month commitment. Spouses count. Adult children of classmates count. Recruit 6, expect 4 to show up.
Time commitment
30 minutes the week of to confirm. 5 hours on reunion day (3 hours setup + 90 min event support + 30 min teardown).
Primary responsibilities
- Setup crew (3 people): decor, signage, badge sorting, table tents, slideshow test.
- Check-in crew (2 people, 2 stations): hand badges, point guests to the bar, smile.
- Teardown crew (3 people, often same as setup): decor down, bins packed, supply check.
- Floating problem-solver (1 person): runs to the store for the thing nobody thought of, handles the inevitable 'where's my badge' moments.
Watch out: Don't assign day-of crew to people who are also attending as celebrated classmates. They can't be running back to the supply table during the slideshow. The crew is heads-down on logistics, not socializing.
Failure mode: Crew shows up at the wrong time, or no one briefs them on what to do. Solution: a 15-minute kickoff briefing at T-3 hours with printed assignments and a clear flag of who reports to whom.
✅ With Reunly
Every role, every task, one dashboard
Stop chasing committee members in three group chats. Reunly assigns tasks by role and pings the owner when something's due.
Optional Roles for Bigger Reunions
These five roles are optional but make a real difference at 20-year and beyond. For smaller reunions, the core committee absorbs the work. For bigger ones, splitting out the role saves the main committee from drowning in the final 8 weeks.
Memorial coordinator
Scope: Verifies the memorial list. Coordinates with families. Writes the memorial moment script.
Who to recruit: Often a beloved classmate or counselor type. Handle with care — this is the most emotionally weighty role.
Strongly recommended for 25-year+ reunions.
Slideshow producer
Scope: Collects then-and-now photos. Builds the slideshow. Tests on the venue's screen.
Who to recruit: Tech-comfortable classmate. Wedding videographer, photographer, or designer background.
Strongly recommended for 20-year+ reunions.
Awards & superlatives lead
Scope: Builds the awards survey. Tallies votes. Designs printable certificates.
Who to recruit: Anyone with a sense of humor and Google Forms experience.
Optional but high-impact for adding fun to the program.
Spouse liaison
Scope: Owns the 'plus-one' communications. Spouses often have different questions than classmates.
Who to recruit: A spouse of a committee member, ideally.
Optional, helpful for 25-year+ reunions where spouses are a meaningful chunk of attendance.
Fundraising / sponsorship lead
Scope: Outreach to local businesses for sponsorship or door prizes. Manages the sponsor table at the event.
Who to recruit: Sales, business development, or PR background.
Optional. Most reunions can fund themselves with ticket sales alone.
The Recruitment Script That Actually Works
The biggest mistake: posting "we need committee members" in the class Facebook group. That produces zero volunteers. Direct, personal asks have a 40–60% acceptance rate. Here's the script:
The three things that make this work: a specific role (not "help us"), a real time commitment (not "a few hours"), and a specific personal reason. Skip any of those three and acceptance rate drops by half.
🎉 With Reunly
Recruit your committee. Then onboard them in Reunly.
Each role gets pre-built task lists, deadlines, and weekly check-ins — no spreadsheet to maintain.
5 Committee Failure Modes (and the Fix)
Every reunion committee fails the same five ways. Knowing the pattern in advance lets you spot the early signal and correct before it becomes a four-month problem.
⚠️ Five chairs and no workers
What it looks like: Everyone on the committee wants to make decisions; nobody wants to do tasks. Common on first-time committees with no clear chair.
Fix: One chair, period. Make it clear at recruitment that other roles are owner-of-the-work, not advisor-to-the-work.
⚠️ The 'I'll do it myself' chair
What it looks like: Chair does every task instead of holding role owners accountable. Burns out by month 5.
Fix: Chair's job description: weekly meeting + accountability + final decisions. Not: doing the work. If the chair is doing tasks that belong to another role, the wrong person owns that role.
⚠️ Treasurer in the dark
What it looks like: Treasurer gets cut out of vendor decisions. Discovers a $4,000 deposit was paid from the personal account 'because there wasn't time.'
Fix: No deposit, no contract gets signed without treasurer sign-off. Period.
⚠️ Comms inconsistency
What it looks like: Three different committee members are posting on Facebook with three different tones. Class is confused. Engagement drops.
Fix: All outbound goes through the comms lead. Other committee members can draft, but comms lead has final edit and final post.
⚠️ RSVP black hole
What it looks like: RSVPs come in but the headcount data isn't shared with the committee. Vendor decisions get made without knowing where attendance stands.
Fix: RSVP lead shares the weekly headcount in the committee meeting. One slide, three numbers: RSVP'd, tickets sold, dollars in.
The Day-Of Crew Briefing
15 minutes at T-3 hours. Every crew member gets a printed assignment sheet and knows their two shift windows: setup (T-3 to T-30 minutes) and teardown (event end + 90 minutes). Use this briefing template:
Briefing agenda (15 min)
- Welcome and thank-you. 2 minutes.
- Hand each crew member their printed assignment sheet. 1 minute.
- Walk through the run-of-show with timing. 4 minutes.
- Tour: check-in table, supply bin, slideshow controls, exits, restrooms. 4 minutes.
- Who reports to whom when something goes wrong. 2 minutes.
- Open Q&A. 2 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people should be on the committee?
5–7 named roles is the sweet spot for most classes. Under 5 and you're under-staffed; key roles double up and burn out. Over 8 and decisions stall in committee debate. For classes over 400, add 2–3 sub-committee coordinators (search, RSVP, comms) reporting to the main role owners. Keep the core committee at 7.
What if we can't find someone to be chair?
Stop and recruit harder. A committee without a chair drifts. If after two months of effort nobody steps up, the answer is rarely 'host the reunion anyway' — it's 'host a smaller, casual gathering' and let someone else organize the next big one. A bad chair is worse than no formal reunion; the committee that bottlenecks for 8 months damages relationships you'll feel for years.
How do we recruit committee members?
Direct, personal asks. Not 'we need help' in the Facebook group — that produces zero volunteers. Instead, the chair texts 10 specific classmates with 'I'm putting together the committee for the 25-year. Would you take the [Role] — here's what it involves and the time commitment.' Direct asks have a 40–60% acceptance rate. Group calls for volunteers have a 0–5% rate.
What if a committee member quits mid-year?
Plan for it. About 1 in 5 committee members will drop out for legitimate reasons. The chair should know who the backup is for every role before Week 40. Document every decision and every contact in shared docs so a replacement can ramp up in two days, not two weeks. The treasurer role is the highest risk if it goes — keep the bank account's read access available to the chair so nothing stalls.
Can the chair also be the treasurer?
No. The two roles must be separated. The chair signs contracts and makes commitments; the treasurer pays the bills and reconciles the account. Combining them creates a single point of failure for the reunion's money and removes the internal accountability that protects everyone — including the person doing both jobs.
Should committee members pay for their own tickets?
Yes. The committee should pay full price like everyone else. Comping committee tickets is a slippery slope: it changes the dynamic, creates the perception that committee work is paid (it isn't), and quietly raises the per-head cost for every other attendee. The thank-you is a small printed gift or a comped drink ticket — not a free ticket.
How do we handle disagreements on the committee?
The chair has final say on issues inside the chair's lane (deadlines, accountability, public communications). Each role owner has final say inside their lane (treasurer on money, comms lead on messaging, event coordinator on vendors). Disagreements get one round of conversation, then the relevant lane owner decides. Avoid voting — votes produce safe, mediocre decisions and resentment.
When does the committee actually disband?
Four weeks after the reunion, not earlier. The post-event work — thank-you email, vendor invoice settlement, post-event survey, handoff to the next committee — takes 3–4 weeks. The committee dinner at Week 4 post-reunion is the proper sendoff. Disbanding earlier leaves the next committee to rebuild the roster from scratch and is the single most-skipped task of every reunion.
✅ With Reunly
Stop running the committee in three group chats
Reunly is the dashboard your committee actually wants — tasks by role, weekly check-ins, money tracked live.
Build a committee that finishes
Reunly gives each role its own task list, accountability check-in, and dashboard — so chairs lead instead of chase.