Reunion cost break down
Posted Thursday, August 27, 2009 12:22 PM

 

Hi Everyone,
 
In case, anyone has questions about how we arrived at the reunion prices, we have put a breakdown of costs below.  As reunion planners we are very aware of the current economic situation and know that budgets are tight for everyone these days.  That weighed heavily on us during the planning process and we have really tried to keep prices affordable and offer events at several different price-points to encourage as much participation as possible. 
 
Orphan Annie's:
Orphan Annie Base price for banquet meals: $13.00
6% Sales Tax: $.78
18% Gratuity: $2.48
Total: $16.26
Markup: $1.74 (see list below for additional reunion items that the markup helps cover)
 

Potluck:
First of all, based on alumni feedback we decided to offer a discounted family price for the picnic.  It's $12.60 for a family if you pay on-line and less than that if you send a check. Thanks to those who gave us their input!
 
Pinning down prices for the potluck was a little more difficult.  There were a lot of indistinct factors that we had to take into account as we tried to decide on prices.  For example:  hot dogs and buns are inexpensive but can still vary by prices given the brand you buy (and we're planning on buying good, all-beef dogs), some may eat a lot of hot dogs while some may eat little,  certain supplies like utensils, napkins etc...need to be bought in bulk regardless of how many you need, and bandshell rental costs need to be accounted for without yet knowing how many people will participate.  So given the nebulous nature of the actual cost of the event,  we tried to think as reasonably as we could through the unknown factors and came up with the following:
 
$1.50 so each person can have 2 hot dogs on average
$1.00 for a drink
$2.50 mark up for additional factors.  See below.

 Shirt Prices:

These prices are directly transferred to you.  There was no markup on them at all.

 
Additional items for this reunion that we need to pay for (and therefore charge our classmates for) include:
Bandshell rental
Propane/charcoal for grills to bbq hot dogs
Plates
Cups
Napkins
Utensils
Nametags
Markers
Table coverings for the picnic
Table decorations
Construction of a class float in the homecoming parade
Signs and posters at the homecoming game
Possibly have to rent a projector for slide show
Website fees ($10 to register domain name, $9 per month, $500 to keep website up and running for 10 years until next reunion.  If we are able to keep the website going, it will make planning the 20 year reunion much simpler)
 
 
We apologize if any of the prices seem too high or if anyone disagrees with our thought processes in how we set them, but we're hoping that the prices are set in such a way that we will also have some money left over for preliminary costs for the next reunion.  Due to changes in how the school handles the money for each class, and the fact that nobody contacted any class officers regarding the changes, all of the money our class earned during high school was contributed to a general scholarship fund leaving us with minimal funds to pay for things for this reunion.  Amy and I have both paid money out of pocket for this reunion and want to prevent future reunion committees from having to front personal funds for reunion expenses.
 
So yes, if you break down the cost of the two events, (the picnic dinner and the dinner at Orphan Annie's) the prices have been marked up (Markup total is approximately $4.25).  However, be assured that the funds are all being used for reunion-associated costs, whether they be now or in the future. Again, we have really tried to keep prices affordable and offer events at several different price-points to encourage as much participation as possible.   We hope that this occasion is momentous enough for all our classmates to join us and participate in this reunion.  As this is the first one, i'm sure we'll learn a lot about what people want to do, how many people will most likely attend, and the threshold price of what people are willing to pay and all lessons learned can be taken into account for those that have input and creative ideas for the next reunion   We hope you are able to attend some or all of the events and can't wait to see you there!   :)
 
Sincerely,

Your reunion planning committee (Amy Blauer and Amy Hoang)