Since the advent of the personal computer and network technology genealogy research by family members has become an addictive pastime that has contributed to many happy reunions while others have discovered family members they never knew they had the world over.

If your reading this article you're probably one of those family members who have a spot in your heart for such reunions. But what if you were asked to organize the next event? Where would you start? When should you start? Should you hire a family reunion planner? The answers to these questions are three fold.

1. Get Help Early In The Project Form a reunion committee comprised of at least one member per 25 attendees. Delegate all tasks. Your task is to follow up with the progress of each task and keep everyone on the same page.

2. Good Communication You've heard it said "if you build it they will come?" Not if no one told them you build it.

3. Provide Plenty of Time To Rally Support Often good communication and plenty of time is all that's needed to rally support. You want to let the family know that your planning a reunion well in advance. At the very least give them a date. Details can follow later. Now they can schedule time off or adjust their vacation plans to include the reunion. To that end Mark recommends that the reunion be planned at least one year in advance providing plenty of time to foresee and execute action items.

To keep reunion meetings from getting bogged down with too much information and little time to follow up with delegated tasks make use of good scheduling, planning tools and action items lists.

For example, if there is a need to schedule a tour of a memorial site, order catering and have a professional on location photo shoot one needs to know when to make calls, who to contact and when to follow up with that person. To avoid forgetting important tasks all that's needed is a good scheduler. Family reunion planner organizers help to keep everyone on the same page.

Good Reunion Planning Tools A good planner organizer should contain a time line preparation reminders, scheduling worksheets, committees assignment sheets, reunion needs lists, meal planner checklists, as well as other essentials for time and cost efficient family reunion planning.

Raising Reunion Event Funds Collecting funds often becomes a major concern. Figuring out how to get family members to dig deep into their pockets is always a challenge. The key is to plan a fun event early in the year that features activities the family will enjoy. Mid-way into the event, not at the end, schedule to have a live or silent auction of several items highly valued by the family.

Another helpful fund raising activity is a rummage sale. Make certain the location for the sale is in a high traffic public place. Be certain to have more that enough items to sell. Don't turn anything down so long as it's presentable. Tip: collect and sell DVD's and music cd's. Everyone loves rummaging through movie and music collections.

With plenty of time set aside for planning, rallying support early in the project, a family reunion committee to delegate tasks to and good follow up using a family reunion planner the task of planning a fun and enriching family reunion can be an enjoyable one for all.