50th Reunion Yearbook Supplement. A tool for planning and executing a 50 th Reunion Yearbook

50th Reunion Yearbook Supplement A tool for planning and executing a 50 th Reunion Yearbook Your name Class

Contents 50 th Reunion Yearbook Project... 3 Starting the yearbook project: the 45 th reunion... 3 Freshman Year (four to three years prior to reunion)... 4 Sophomore Year (three to two years prior to reunion)... 5 The Yearbook Committee... 5 Junior Year (two to one year prior to your 50 th reunion)... 8 Senior Year (the year prior to your 50 th reunion)... 10 Appendix A: Sample yearbook cover using a picture... 16 Appendix B: Sample yearbook cover using artwork... 17 Appendix C: Sample table of contents... 18 Appendix D: Sample questions for the biographical questionnaire... 19 Appendix E: Sample left-hand and right-hand biography pages... 20 2

50 th Reunion Yearbook Project The NMH 50 th reunion yearbook is a celebration of the members of the class. The goal is to include all classmates in the yearbook, whether or not they are able to attend reunion. The idea of the yearbook is to reconnect, to remember your time on campus, and to let people know what you ve done since graduation. The yearbook is traditionally distributed prior to reunion (late April) and is a wonderful motivator to enhance reunion attendance and class gift participation. Preparation of a successful yearbook is a team effort. This supplement provides some guidelines the committee might want to follow to create a successful book. Each book will reflect the individual class, so variations on these guidelines are encouraged. A frequently asked question: How is the yearbook financed? The school will make upfront payments for the graphic designer and the printer, but these costs must be reimbursed through yearbook sales. Your class is responsible for determining a yearbook selling price that covers the total cost of the book. See page 13 on how to determine cost. Starting the yearbook project: the 45 th reunion A representative from the Reunion Advisory Committee will attend the class meeting at your 45 th reunion. You will hear a brief description of the yearbook project, and you will be able to look at some yearbooks that recent 50 th reunion classes have produced. It is recommended that you take time to regroup and savor the memories of your 45 th reunion, for about a year. Serious planning for your 50 th reunion yearbook should begin about a year after your 45 th reunion. This document describes a timeline for suggested yearbook activities that will familiarize you with the work involved in publishing a yearbook and help you keep the project on track. We have called the years prior to your 50 th reunion your Freshman (four to three years prior to reunion), Sophomore (three to two years prior to reunion), Junior (two to one years prior to reunion), and Senior (the year prior to your reunion) years. These labels coincide with the NMH class that will graduate the same year as your 50 th reunion. 3

Freshman Year Four to three years prior to your 50th Identify your yearbook editors. This is the time to start identifying the yearbook editors. You should have at least two editors, one from each campus. Each editor will approach the task with a different viewpoint, so it's essential to have one from each campus. A suggestion here: go back to your original yearbook and find people who worked on it. Ask classmates directly; don't expect volunteers. If possible, approach classmates who have a background in editing or publishing. Once the editors have been identified, they should begin to build the yearbook committee classmates who can help them with the various sections of the book. Each committee member should have a limited area to cover so as not to be overwhelmed. Create a communication plan. Keeping in frequent touch with classmates about the yearbook is extremely important. Most reunion committees set up a class website, Facebook page, or other social media site to communicate class plans and recruit participants. Classes are also encouraged to send two newsletters annually. Be sure to stay in touch with the reunion chairs and class secretaries so that you can make good use of these communication tools to grow the yearbook committee and prepare classmates for making yearbook contributions. Attend meetings. In fall of this year, the school will invite your reunion committee to return to campus for a meeting to plan your 50 th reunion. If you already have members on your yearbook committee, they should try to attend this meeting to view yearbooks that previous classes have published. This will help you determine potential yearbook content and identify what talents and skills are needed so that you can more effectively recruit your yearbook team. Other meetings, typically by conference call, can take place throughout the year; it is the editors responsibility to arrange these, but your school staff liaison will provide the call number and will also attend if he/she is available. A Reunion Advisory Committee member who has produced a successful 50 th reunion yearbook will also be a consultant for your team. Freshman Year Summary CHECKLIST Meet with yearbook committee members and NMH staff and Reunion Advisory Committee members on campus in the fall. Look at 50th reunion yearbooks published by other classes. Identify yearbook chairs (editors). Determine a plan for building your yearbook committee. Include an article about the yearbook in the two reunion newsletters that are sent to your class; describe the yearbook project and ask for volunteers to join the committee. 4

Sophomore Year Three to two years prior to your 50th Build the yearbook committee. This year should be focused on building the entire yearbook committee. The more the work is distributed among your classmates, the more enthusiasm will be generated for the project, and each person s assignment will be manageable. Suggested committee members and their tasks are described in the next section, however, your class may have ideas for the yearbook that require additional volunteers. Your yearbook contents will determine the committee responsibilities. See Appendix C for a sample table of contents. Your goal for this year should be to identify as many committee members as possible. You may also begin to think about the biographical questionnaire that your classmates will be asked to fill out for publication in the yearbook. Keep communicating. Continue to take advantage of social media and your class newsletters to recruit committee members, ask for photos, other images, and solicit ideas for the yearbook. The Yearbook Committee The Reunion Yearbook Committee typically consists of the members listed below. You may have more or less, depending on what you plan to include in your yearbook. Editors The editors are the overall managers of the project, but they should not try to do the job alone. Computer, internet, and copyediting skills are essential, as is attention to detail. Specific tasks include: Recruiting the yearbook team Developing the biographical questionnaire (with the reunion committee) Determining overall content and layout of yearbook sections Serving as the liaison with the graphic designer (NMH will contract with one for you) Determining a style sheet for use by all copy editors Determining the cost of the yearbook Submitting final edited document sections to the graphic designer Attend meetings. In fall of this year, the school will invite your reunion committee to once again return to campus for a meeting. Encourage yearbook committee members to attend so that you can begin determining yearbook content. Your NMH staff liaison can help you set up conference calls as need throughout the year. Calls should include your NMH staff liaison and assigned RAC member. 5

Photo chair This person is responsible for collecting, scanning, sorting, and positioning class photos and other images and memorabilia in the book. The materials that go into the book might include: Yearbook photos from the year of graduation Current photos submitted with the biographical questionnaires Photos from schooldays and reunions Playbills, programs, and any other items that are appropriate; creativity is encouraged! Contact the NMH Archives for images and documents from your class years. The photo chair is responsible for getting all graphic materials (photos, copies of articles, playbills, and more) into digital format. This person will need to work closely with your contracted designer for specific instructions regarding resolution, transmission, and size of images. There is a lot of information on the web about scanning documents and photographs if help is needed. The photo chair will work with the graphic designer to determine where the images go in the yearbook; other yearbook committee members may also be involved in the actual layout of the yearbook. Database manager Someone who can set up an internet site for collecting the biographical questionnaires and images. Classmates can enter their biographical questionnaire information here and upload current digital images. The editors will retrieve the material submitted here, proofread it, and save it in the style/format required for the yearbook. The photo editor will retrieve photos and other graphic materials submitted here. If you are using a website that converts images to low resolution (to save on space), try to have classmates send you images via email or some other online vehicle even if the images are already on the website. To be effective in print format, an image must be at least 400 dpi, preferably higher; tif format is preferred over.jpg. Reflections chairs Someone from each campus to write a reflection of their class s years on campus. It is best to ask four-year students to perform this task. Memorial chairs Someone from each campus to gather information on the deceased classmates. This may include contacting the families of the deceased as well as classmates who were close to them. Faculty chairs Someone from each campus to gather information, including pictures, on living faculty. Consider sending a letter to each faculty member to encourage them to write an article for the yearbook. Artist/cartoonist If you have a member of the class who is talented and interested in this area, it's a wonderful way to add charm to the book in the form of cartoons or drawings. This person could also design a unique cover for the book. Graphic designer This person will put the book together into a single document, with all sections in the correct order and the images placed as desired. The document that is submitted to the printer needs to be a pdf file that represents the entire book, exactly as it should be printed. See the discussion about a graphic designer later in this section. 6

Sophomore Year Summary CHECKLIST Meet with yearbook committee members and NMH staff and Reunion Advisory Committee members on campus in the fall. Complete building your yearbook committee. Set up a website or Facebook page where classmates can communicate. This provides a good opportunity to recruit members of the yearbook committee as well. Work on 50th reunion yearbook content. Identify the sections to be written and the committee members who will write them. Begin to design your biographical questionnaire. Include an article about the yearbook in the two reunion newsletters that are sent to your class; describe the yearbook project and ask for committee members and ideas for the book. 7

Junior Year Two to one years prior to your 50 th Develop a biographical questionnaire. This is a key project this year. The questionnaire is an opportunity for classmates to a) report on life since NMH and b) express their fondest memories of NMH. Review questionnaires used by other classes (see Appendix D). It s best to include some basic vital statistics and a few open-ended questions. The questionnaire should not be too short, but it should not be so long that it discourages classmates to complete it. You want to get a good response. (A realistic goal is to obtain replies from at least 50% of the surviving class; with extra effort, responses of 70% have been achieved.) Identify a graphic designer. NMH will connect you with an approved graphic designer to help with putting the book together before it goes to the printer. You may have someone in the class who is a graphic artist who can help; otherwise, take advantage of the professional it makes a huge difference in how the book looks. Once you have decided on a graphic designer, you should discuss how you are planning to collect the biographical questionnaires and how the designer will get all the yearbook content (documents, photos, biographies, etc.). An application such as DropBox or Google Drive is useful for transferring these files to the graphic designer. You will want to invite your graphic designer to your Senior Year fall meeting. The school will provide the upfront money for the graphic designer, but that cost should be included in the final price of the yearbook in order to reimburse the school. Finalize yearbook content. Each committee member should have an assignment and begin working. In addition to the classmate biographies, you might include sections for deceased classmates, faculty, and perhaps recollections of your years at school, as well as any other sections that your class thinks would be of interest. Images are an important part of the memories. Appeal to classmates for: photos from school days photos of reunions memorabilia from school days. Classmates get a real kick out of things like disciplinary letters and documents that show how much things have changed, e.g., how strict the school used to be, activities that are no longer part of school life. Some of your classmates might have wonderful scrapbooks that contain unique documents, photographs, or images that you would otherwise not have access to. Meet with the school s archivist (Peter Weis, 413-498-3469). He can supply you with a CD containing a wide variety of historical, campus, and class photos, as well as access to other memorabilia. Also, the NMH Flickr page has a lot of recent photos that you can download. The school does not own all of these photos. Some may not be reproduced, so be sure to check with the school before using any photos on Flickr. 8

Keep communicating. Continue to take advantage of social media and your two class newsletters to recruit staff and ask for photos, artwork, or anything appropriate for the yearbook. Junior Year Summary CHECKLIST Meet with yearbook committee members and NMH staff and Reunion Advisory Committee members on campus in the fall. Attend meetings. In fall of this year, the school will invite your reunion committee to return to campus for another meeting to plan your 50 th reunion. All members of your yearbook committee should try to attend this meeting so that you can finalize your yearbook content and make writing assignments. Your NMH staff liaison can help you set up conference calls as needed throughout the year. Calls should include your NMH staff liaison and assigned Reunion Advisory Committee member. Finalize the yearbook content. All writing and artwork for your yearbook should be in progress, with deadlines set. Finalize the biographical questionnaire. Start collecting images and other materials for the yearbook (NMH archives, classmates). Set up a site on the internet where classmates can fill out the biographical questionnaire and upload images. Get help from the school to hire a graphic designer for the yearbook or ask a qualified classmate to do this. Identify the yearbook printer. Include an article about the yearbook in the two reunion newsletters that are sent to your class; ask for memorabilia and photographs from school days that could be included in the yearbook. Prepare classmates for the biographical questionnaire that they will be asked to fill out. 9

Senior Year The year prior to your 50 th reunion This year is focused primarily on putting the yearbook together. Yearbook sections. All the sections should be written and ready for editing by now, with the exception of the biographies, which will be collected and finalized in the beginning of this year. Set a deadline of September for all writing assignments and make sure all section leaders and writers know about the September deadline. Yearbook cover. Choose designs for the front and back covers of the yearbook. Will they be drawings or photos? See Appendices A and B for sample front and back covers. Assign someone to execute the chosen designs. Biographical questionnaire. The biographical questionnaire should be finalized a full year before your reunion. Write and send a letter to classmates that includes instructions for completing the questionnaire and a request for current photos and any photos or memorabilia from their school days that they would like to have considered for the yearbook. The questionnaire should have a place for classmates to indicate whether they expect to attend reunion and whether they plan to buy a yearbook. This letter will be mailed by the NMH Advancement Office no later than July 1, and the deadline for submissions should be September 1. The biographical questionnaire should be available on the internet so that people can fill it out and submit it electronically, along with a current photo(s) in digital format; this is the preferred way to receive the completed questionnaires. If people do not want to complete the biographical questionnaire online, they will need to complete the form and send it in, either via email (as a Word document or other format that can be cut and pasted into the book), or by mail. The last option is the least attractive, since the editors will need to type in each questionnaire submitted as hard copy. Be prepared to send out a reminder for biographical questionnaires in September, and set a new deadline for late September or early October. If you do not have all the completed questionnaires by then, you will have a hard time putting the book together. It s helpful to have email addresses, since that s a good way to contact classmates who haven t yet responded with their questionnaire. The alumni office can supply a list of classmates with email addresses (and a lot more). You should also consider having a group of callers who start calling classmates in September, encouraging them to submit their questionnaires (and attend reunion). You can accept questionnaires through late September or October, but until you set a cutoff date, you will not be able to layout the biographical sections, as it is important to know whether a biography starts on a left-hand or right-hand page, how many pages the biography will take (with photos inserted) and how much blank space will be at the end of the biography. See Appendix E for sample biographies starting on left-hand and right-hand pages. 10

Communication. This year, the school will mail up to four newsletters to your classmates. These should be used to encourage classmates to complete their biographical questionnaires, ask for current and old photographs. The same messages should be on your website and/or Facebook page. September You will have a meeting at the school in September with other classes working toward their 50 th reunion. Committee members who have writing assignments should have their final, edited version by this time so that the committee can begin to see what has been accomplished and what still needs to be done. At this meeting you should confirm the progress of each section and determine a plan for obtaining additional biographical questionnaires. Assign someone to put together the opening pages and decide on a Dedication and a Foreword. You will need to decide the order of the sections and where photographs and documents will be inserted between sections. Many classmates will not provide a recent photo with their biographical questionnaire, and sometimes what s submitted will not fill the entire last page of that biography. In such cases, it s a good idea to use an old photo, a reunion photo, or some memorabilia that suits that person to fill the rest of the page. See Appendix E for an example of adding a picture to fill the page and complement a biography. In order to do this, you could develop an Excel spreadsheet with an entry for each classmate that submitted a biographical questionnaire. One field would be a place to enter particular memories or interests from the biographical questionnaire, another for notes on what photos/graphics were used. It is easier to avoid duplication by keeping track of what has been used and where it was used to fill blank space. You should also email or call classmates who have not yet sent in a biographical questionnaire and photo, asking them to complete the questionnaire and submit it by a late September or early October deadline. In addition, the NMH Advancement Office will send out a reminder email to all classmates. You should also have a group who will call classmates who have not yet submitted their questionnaire, encouraging them to do so promptly. Book layout. Ideally you should have all the materials by September so that you can start editing and putting the book together. 11

October and November By the end of this period you should have turned over all of the yearbook content to the graphic designer so that he can begin to lay out the book and get an indication of how many pages it will be. Biographies. Editors should finish collecting the questionnaires, copyedit them, and make sure all are in a wordprocessing program. Make sure all the pages follow the same formatting, and use your style sheet to establish consistent use of typeface, abbreviations, capitalization, spelling, and punctuation across the entire book. It s best for the editors and copy editors to do this as the biographical questionnaires are submitted through the summer and early fall to avoid having too much to do all at once. It s also very important to proofread everything. Line up proofreaders early, and have more than one person read each biography. Photos. The photo chair will be busy scanning pictures and making certain that biographical photos (old and current) are matched with each classmate s biography. Any hard copies of photos that must be returned must be properly identified. Again, it s best to have photos sent electronically! Photographs of the campus and events from 50 years ago should be collected and scanned if necessary. Start thinking about where these could go in the yearbook on a blank half-page, on a theme page, in the Reflections, or somewhere else. Photos and other graphic materials add so much to the book; keep encouraging classmates to send any they have from your school years. Contact Peter Weis in the NMH Archives to assist. Other sections. The content for all the other sections of the yearbook, including the foreword and dedication, should be completed and edited. Work should begin on the front and back covers if these are not already done. Book layout. The graphic designer will lay out the book, but the editors should determine the order of the sections in the book, and where color pages and other art/theme pages will go. Laying out the yearbook takes a long time it is best to get started as soon as you have a substantial number of biographies and photos. Each biography should start at the top of a new page since that makes it easier to find people and gives a sense of consistency to the book. This will, however, result in some blank space after some biographies. You can use photographs from school days, scanned documents, and other items to fill that space. The biographies will start on either a left-hand or right-hand page, and the placement of the old yearbook photo depends on that, so it s best to wait until the biographies are basically complete before modifying the header on those pages. You can, however, insert current photos where you want them in the biography. The other sections of the book should be complete by this time, and they should be merged with the biographies so that you can get an idea of the number of pages and start to place photographs that are not directly related to the biographies in the book. You may want to have theme pages, with photos that all relate to a particular event (e.g. winter carnival). You may also have a number of photos that you would like to have printed in color, and those should be grouped together (per the printer s requirements) 12

and placed where it seems appropriate. It is nice if you can fill any significant blank space at the end of biographies with a picture that is appropriate for the classmate (e.g. the dorm they lived in, something that they mentioned in their biography, such as dummy or farm work). The layout of the book will go through several revisions before the final version. December Pricing the book. The school will front the money for the graphic designer and the printing, but you are responsible for determining the price of the book so that these costs are covered. The editors should work with NMH, the designer, and the printer to determine costs. The book is printed primarily in black and white, but there can be sets of color pages. Color pages cost more than black and white; bindings and types of paper differ in cost. The printing cost depends on the number/type of pages and the number of books printed; the printer can provide quotes for different configurations. Ordering the right number of books and setting the cost can be tricky. Look at the number of people who have indicated they will purchase the book. Add to this number 15-20 more books that need to be given away free to returning faculty, the NMH Advancement Office, the Archives, the school administration, etc. Add another 15-20 that will be bought by classmates who initially thought they would not purchase one. Many reunion attendees purchase one when they arrive on campus, look through the yearbook and wish they had one. You don t want to be left with cases of unsold books, so to keep costs down you need to cut the numbers close. The printer will give you a cost per book based on the number ordered. Your order must be in specific batches (e.g. 150, 175), so you may need to order a few more than you calculate just to meet the printer s requirements. To get a total cost, you will add the cost the printer has given you, the cost of the graphic designer, and the shipping costs (transporting to the school), which can be avoided if someone picks up the books at the printer. Classmates must pay for the cost of shipping the books out to them. When you total the costs, you next need to divide the costs by the number of people who you expect will pay for them. Remember we give some away free. When you have decided on what to charge for the book, let the school know. All ordering and payment will be done through the school, so you don t have to handle any money. Additional yearbooks will be available for purchase at the reunion registration center for those who have not ordered them. January and February Finalize book layout. All of the sections of the book should be complete and edited, and a draft layout of the book should be completed. You will work closely with the graphic designer, who will organize all the sections of the book, enhance the overall appearance, add a table of contents, and then put the book in the pdf format required by the printer. Be sure to thoroughly check early versions of the book to ensure that everything is there and in the desired order. 13

The printing process. By mid-february the graphic designer should deliver the file to the printer, who will run a test copy for the editors to proofread. Please be careful at this point to look over each page, watching for such things as photo and print quality. For example, sometimes images that look fine when viewing the pdf file online are too dark when printed. Because the printer sets the ink level for the entire book, they can not correct individual images; however, the graphic designer can lighten images and submit a new pdf file. This proofing and the changes made can take several weeks and cannot be hurried. There can be considerable back and forth as you strive to get the yearbook to look the best it can before you give the go ahead to have it printed. Ordering the yearbook. The school will create an electronic order form and payment system and notify your classmates when they can start ordering yearbooks. March and April The book will be printed and should be ready by the end of March. The printer will ship them to NMH for a considerable cost, or you can have someone pick them up at the printer and take them to the NMH Advancement Office. The school will ship the books to classmates who have ordered them during the months of April and May. 14

Senior Year Summary CHECKLIST July 1: Send out yearbook biographical questionnaire; state preference for completion of the questionnaire online, but allow for electronic document sent by email or handwritten document. Ask classmates to indicate whether they intend to purchase a yearbook and/or attend reunion. Copy editors should edit biographical questionnaires (per a style sheet) as these come in so that the work is spread out. Meet with yearbook committee members and NMH staff and Reunion Advisory Committee members on campus in the fall; all writing assignments should be completed and edited. information about the book to interest them in purchasing one. Meet with the printer to obtain pricing information, including color pages, number of pages, and quantity breakpoints. Determine the price of the yearbook. Hand over all material to the graphic designer. Work with the graphic designer on the book layout (where to put picture pages, filler material for blank space, etc.). The graphic designer will lay out the yearbook and prepare it for the printer; there will be many opportunities for the committee to review the book as it is put together. Send an email with a final deadline for yearbook questionnaires. The graphic designer will submit the book (as a pdf file) to the printer. Contact (email, phone call) classmates who have not submitted their questionnaire for the yearbook and encourage them to do so; provide a short deadline. Include an article about the yearbook in the four reunion newsletters that are sent to your class; encourage them to complete their biographical questionnaires and give them enough Review draft version of book from the printer; be sure that everything is of good resolution and readability. Give the printer the go ahead to print the book. Classmates will order the book online on the NMH website. Mail 50th Reunion Yearbook. 15

Appendix A: Sample yearbook cover using a picture Music from Ruddigore and school logos on the back 16

Appendix B: Sample yearbook cover using artwork 17

Appendix C: Sample Table of Contents FOREWORD CLASS HISTORY NSFG (reflections on our time at NSFG) NORTHFIELD BIOS CLASS HISTORY MH (reflections on our time at MH) MOUNT HERMON BIOS MEMORIAM NSFG; MH FACULTY MEMORIES OTHER CLASSMATES (no Bio submitted) LOOKING BACK (on the 50 years since graduation) Pictures, artwork, recipes, maps, and other memorabilia are placed throughout the book. 18

Appendix D: Sample questions for the biographical questionnaire Current address Phone Cell phone Email Website Nickname (then and now) Hometown when at NMH Years/dorm(s) at NMH Birthday; birthplace Family (spouse/partner, children, grandchildren, significant people in your life) Education and career after NMH Focus of your life since NMH Life today/current interests Inspirational/Transformative influence on your life Influences of NMH Faculty and staff who you respected NMH memories Words of wisdom Anything else to share 19

Appendix E: Sample left-hand and right-hand biography pages 20

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