How To Set Up A Timeline For Each Committee To Complete Tasks

Organizing a class reunion is much like orchestrating a symphony. The class chair acts as a conductor and the rest of the committee members are playing the instruments.

In an orchestra, timing is just as important as the playing of the instrument. If the violin starts too early or too late, it throws off the whole symphony. The very existence of sheet music is to make sure everyone knows what to do, and where to begin.

By creating a timeline, each committee member will know what task needs to be done by when so that another dependent task can get started. For example, the hotel selection committee has to block hotel rooms before the communications committee can start printing the invitations. Sending out invites without telling people where the event will be held would not work.

In this article, we will go over the steps that need to be taken in order to:

1. Create a timeline for each committee
2. And a master timeline with everyone’s tasks.

Let’s start by creating a timeline for each committee member

Create a timeline of tasks for each class reunion committee

Create a list of responsibilities for each committee, and ask the committee head to work on getting a reasonable amount of time to complete each item. If you would like a list of responsibilities for each committee, read our article “What Are The Most Common Class Reunion Committees?”

Once you have a list of responsibilities (tasks), instruct each committee to create a chronological list of what task will be done when.

As an example, here is a sample timeline for the Class Reunion Hotel Selection Committee.

 

Class Reunion Hotel Selection Committee Timeline
Description	Due Date	Volunteer Responsible	Completed
Get Group Hotel Rates	October 1	John
Compare Group Rates For Hotels	October 2	John + Carol
Present A List Of Recommended Hotels To Class Reunion Committee	October 5	Committee
Set up site tours	October 6	Carol
Visit Hotels, Negotiate Amenities	October 10-20	John + Carol + James
Finalize Hotel And Present Selection to Committee For Approval	October 30	Committee
Review Contract And Sign	November 5	Jane
Call Hotel For Rooming List	March 15	John
Finalize Rooming List And Complimentary rooms list	April 15	John

Create a master calender

When committee members have completed their chronological list of activities, they should submit them to the reunion chair. Each list should be reviewed and the tasks should be incorporated into a master calendar. Notate any tasks that require other tasks to be completed so any bottlenecks can be identified early.

The master calendar list should include all tasks, description, committee responsible, due date, and whether it is dependent on another task. Once completed, the calendar should be given to every member of the planning committee so they can see how their tasks relate to the overall class reunion.

Encourage all committee members to share the schedule with their volunteers so everyone is in the loop as far as expectations are concerned.

Regular progress reports are essential to any planning endeavor. Spend some time in every planning meeting to go over everyone”s progress. Ask individual committee members to bring the rest of the group up to speed along with any problems that they may be facing.

But isn’t all this planning just extra work for no reason?

The earlier a problem is brought to surface, the faster the committee can help resolve it. After all, if one person falls behind, the rest of the group will as well. It is in everyone’s interest to hold hands as a team.

Having all the tasks written out provides a road map for every committee member and also provides a way to measure their performance. While it may seem like a lot of work to put together a list of tasks and a master calender, it will save a lot of time in the long run.

What should you read next?

Read some tips on putting together a great class reunion planning committee. Remember, a class reunion is only as strong as it’s planning committee.