ADVICE FOR REUNION COMMITTEES

The hardest thing about planning the Hilber reunion is that each time a new committee starts out from scratch, without any past experience to guide them. Below are hints, suggestions, ideas, info, and advice from the Nephew reunion committee (2006) to get you started.

REUNION SCHEDULING & FINANCES

The reunion is usually in mid-July. Cabins and tent sites can be reserved up to a year in advance, so announcing the week at least 12 months beforehand is important. 

Weekly cabin rentals run from around 3 pm the first Saturday to 9 am the next Saturday. Reunion registration is usually the first Saturday afternoon because of this, at the same time as some sort of “Welcome to the  Reunion” social event, and held in the Lida Greens loft since people tend to stop in there as soon as they get to Pelican Rapids.

A significant number of people are only able to come for the first weekend, and maybe Monday, so the “big events” like the golf tournament, catered dinner, and Tableau are best off being done then.

Committees usually aim for hosting at least one event each day of the reunion. 

Events at Lida Greens should end by 10 pm so Joe and Nancy can get to bed at a reasonable time. Also, most younger children get whiney at around 7 pm, and go to bed by 8 pm, so events you'd like them and their parents to come to should start at 6 pm or earlier.

Joe doesn't charge us for rental of the loft for the week, or for playing golf. He does charge for clubs/cart/car rentals and pro shop purchases (food and golf gear), so it's a nice idea to encourage people to set up a tab with the pro shop for the week. And it's similarly nice to buy tournament prizes from the pro shop if possible.

In 2006, Anne Nephew's family counted 58 people listed on their registration forms. The real number was probably higher than this, since in several cases kids weren't listed by name on the forms. They ended up collecting about $175 more than they actually spent on reunion expenses, which was over $1200 in total (not including their cabins and personal expenses, of course). That's only about $3 extra per person. Money left over at the end of the reunion was gifted to Joe and Nancy in appreciation of all that they do for the reunions, and to help (in a small way) with future improvements. That gift is a tradition that subsequent reunion committees have continued.

REUNION EVENTS

Here are some events that have been done or considered for previous years:

“Welcome to the Reunion” social event & registration, usually Saturday from around 4 to 7 pm in the loft. Be sure to HAVE A PRINTED SCHEDULE to hand out to everyone, and signup sheets for all the events. A cash box with change is a good idea, since people will be paying with cash or check. Coldcut sandwiches or the like work well, with a cost of around $7.

Sunday morning church (an easy one).

Golf tournament, usually all day Sunday ending at dinnertime, with a fee of $5 or less to pay for prizes like a reunion tshirt or polo shirt, golf balls, etc. Designate someone from the reunion committee to collect scorecards. Decide whether it's individual score, team score, best ball, etc. Also think about awards for worst game, longest drive, best hole, etc.

Putting “tournament” for kids, on the putting green, usually for a few hours Sunday afternoon so parents can golf. All participants enjoy getting a prize, like a sticker or something. Minimal charge for prizes and possibly treats, of around $2.

Driving tournament on the driving range, Sunday afternoon. Prizes for longest men's drive, longest women's drive, longest kids' drive. Charge of less than $5 depending on prizes.

Catered dinner, usually Sunday or Monday night, with a fee of around $15, and $8 or less for kids under 12. Ask Joe for names of local caterers. 50-60 people is a good number to plan for. Scheduling some time for family announcements has worked well in the past, where each sibling (or his/her family's representative) comes up to the microphone and tells us what's happened in the last two years. Or, have a “family introduction” where each sibling comes up with his/her family to the stage and introduces them all with a little bit about them. Some reunion committees have done things like photo montage boards, DVD slideshows, or putting out photo albums during the dinner, too.

The Tableau is often done following the catered dinner, with a birthday cake for Jesus afterward. It should have a single blue candle in it. Ask Jodi where the costumes are, and Nancy often volunteers to provide music with her guitar.

Fishing tournament, ending Friday night at dinnertime, with a fee of around $2 to pay for prizes. Longest fish, heaviest fish, most one one kind of fish, etc.

Potluck dinner, usually Friday night so people can bring the extra food they have left from the week. OR, really early in the week so people can eat the leftovers for the rest of the week. The reunion committee often provides beverages for this.

Sisters' Tea, usually a weekday afternoon. Sometimes a charge of around $5, and hosted at the cabin of one of the sisters. Be sure to mention if this is open to all the women, or just the sisters.
Brothers' Brunch or other get-together for the men. Held in the VFW in past years. Be sure to mention if this is open to all the men, or just the brothers.

Golf lessons for kids and/or adults.

Outdoor games, usually during the afternoon and held in the open space below the putting green or on the driving range (or wherever Joe prefers it to be). Volleyball, soccer, croquet, horseshoes, frisbee, three-legged-races, ring toss, Red Rover, dodgeball, etc.

Board/card game night at the loft or on the pro shop porch. Often following dinner.

Treasure hunt for kids, on a weekday afternoon. Charge of around $3 per child.

Circle jam music night at the loft. Tom Hilber can usually be counted on to volunteer to play, along with Sylvan. Often following dinner.

Movie night at the loft, with soda and popcorn provided. Hilber family home movies/slides are popular with the older set, or just a couple of rented movies if you want it to be for kids or teens. Often following dinner.

Fireworks, following a dinner.

Talent show at the loft. Often following dinner. Prizes.

Hilber triva game, following a dinner.

Pizza & pop lunch/dinner in the loft. Pizzas can be ordered from the pro shop, and it's nice to send the business Joe's way. Charge of around $8.

Wine and cheese social, at someone's resort, either as an afternoon or after-dinner event.
Beach party/BBQ/picnic lunch at one of the resorts, with skiing/jetskiing/pontoon rides if someone has a boat you can use. (Pontoon rental is $385 for the week at Cross Point Resort.) Providing hot dogs and soda is an easy way to feed people, or those giant Subway sandwiches. Charge of around $7 per adult, $4 per child.

Horseback riding or an organized group hike at Maplewood State Park. There's also a picnic shelter for rent, a fishing pier, a swimming beach, and boat access in the park that might be useful for reunion events. http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/maplewood/index.html

Swimming at the Pelican Rapids public pool

Visit to the grave sites of Jack and Clarissa Hilber, and the Luciers, in Fargo.

Antiquing in the Detroit Lakes area, as an organized outing.

Check the Pelican Rapids website to see if the town is having an event or festival during the reunion that you can make into a planned excursion. For example, in previous years they've had the “Turkey Days” festival, a community concert, and Art in the Park events in July. http://www.pelicanrapids.com/

Get info on local tourist spots and places of interest from the Pelican Rapids Area Tourist Information Center, and plan an event based around one of them. http://www.pelicanrapidschamber.com/ccvisitcntr.htm

Email everyone and ask if anyone would like to host an event. You'll sometimes get someone who wants to do a Pampered Chef party or a baby or bridal shower for someone.

REUNION WEBSITE & GETTING INFO OUT

The official website for the Hilber reunion is located at http://hilberreunion.blogspot.com and Michelle Nephew is the webmaster. The 2006, 2008, and 2010 reunions all used the same site. You can contact Michelle at michelle@atlas-games.com to ask for access to it. She'll send you an invitation from Blogger.com, and when you log in you'll be able to post information and photos. Be sure to announce the dates of the reunion at least a year in advance by putting it up on the reunion website. People also really like to have the schedule in advance. Putting it up on the reunion website a month or so beforehand is important for that reason.
 
There's also a Facebook group called “I Go To The Hilber Family Reunion.” All of the posts you put up on the reunion website are automatically mirrored on the Facebook group, so you don't have to do anything to keep it up to date. If you have any questions about it, ask Michelle.

Some committees have offered reunion tshirts and suchlike for sale through Cafepress.com, with a link to it on the reunion website. They're usually offered “at cost” with no markup. Michelle designed these tshirts, and has admin access to the Hilber reunion cafepress shop. She'd be happy to do a new one or revise an old one with the current date if you ask her. Do this at least two months before the reunion.

Not very many people actually send in preregistration forms unless you snail mail it to them directly and give them a deadline to return it, and maybe even include a return envelope. In past years, these have been sent to everyone, or just to the sibilings asking them to preregister their families for them.

See the family tree at Geni.com for email addresses for the whole family. Email Michelle Nephew for an invitation if you don't already have access to it.