Greetings alumni!
Thank you for volunteering to coordinate and host the Welcome to Our City event in your region! Volunteers like you make these events possible, and we really appreciate your help. This overview will provide you with the information to plan, execute, and follow up on the event.

Background Information
Planning
The Night of the Event
After the Event
Questions?

The goal of Welcome to Our City is to connect recent graduates with other alumni in the area. Generally, the events are casual gatherings with appetizers and a cash bar at a local hot spot of the coordinator's choosing. Events may also be held at the coordinator's home or other venue. Events usually take place in late September/early October in 14 cities across the country. You may choose the date and time of your event within the provided date range.

The class range of alumni invited to each event varies by the number of alumni in the region. Most events include the most recent ten, fifteen, or twenty-five graduating classes. Atlanta and St. Louis usually include all alumni. The alumni office will send e-mail invitations for each region except Atlanta and St. Louis, who will receive print invitations. The most recent class of alumni will also receive the "master" print invitation, listing locations of all events, so they can attend a Welcome to Our City event wherever they happen to be. As coordinator/host, you will receive a list of alumni that will be invited to your event and a copy of the previous year's invitation to get you started.

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Planning

-Find a suitable location and choose a date/time for your event
Consider a local bar/restaurant that is centrally located and easily accessible (i.e., near mass transit and convenient parking). Reasonable drink prices are also important to recent graduates. Be sure to call ahead and reserve a room if needed, and make sure they are prepared for our group.

-Relay location and date/time information to the alumni office
The alumni office needs to know the location (name, address, phone number, web site, parking information, etc.), date, and time at least a month in advance. The earlier, the better! When we have all of the information for an event, the alumni office will send invitations as described above. You will be listed as the local contact, and alumni in your area will R.S.V.P. to you.

-Arrange for appetizers to be available
You may order food from the location itself, or bring food if the location allows carry-ins. We usually charge alumni $5 at the door to help cover food cost, and the alumni office will contribute an additional amount based on projected attendance. You will be given a total budget for your event, but since some cities are more expensive, this amount is flexible. If you need additional funds, please contact the alumni office.

-Encourage attendance
Personal invitations greatly help with attendance. Use your list to call or e-mail your friends in the area and encourage them to come to the event. Ask them to mention Welcome to Our City to other friends.

You are welcome to find a friend to help make personal contacts and co-host the event. The alumni office will also recruit one or two recent graduates and a couple of hosts from other classes to encourage attendance among their classmates, and help with whatever you might need at the event. If you have other ideas for encouraging attendance, please let us know. We'd like to connect as many young alumni as possible!

Prior to the event, we will send you a Lawrence banner, name tags, sign-in sheet and give-aways. You can use the banner to designate where the group should meet and alumni can help themselves to small give-aways.

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The Night of the Event

-Set up banner and welcome alumni
You will serve as the local host and should arrive at the location early to set up the Lawrence banner and give-aways. Greet Lawrentians as they arrive, encourage people to sign in, and collect payment (cash or check payable to Lawrence University). Once a critical mass has assembled, offer a few words of welcome to the group. Encourage alumni to fill out the blue contact information forms.

-Save the blue information forms
Keep the information forms to send back to the alumni office, so that we have current information on everybody.

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After the Event

Return the blue forms, sign-in sheet, and revenue to the alumni office (a return envelope will be provided with the materials you receive closer to the event). If possible, take the cash and send a check payable to Lawrence University instead.

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Questions?

Please contact us if you have any questions regarding Welcome to Our City. We welcome any new ideas you might have to make these events more successful. You can e-mail, call, or fax us your location information. Thank you for volunteering to help with this special event!

E-mail: alumni@lawrence.edu
Phone: 920-832-6916, toll free 800-283-8320
Fax: 920-832-6896

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