4 Tips for a Successful Transition as an Outgoing Apparel Chair

Hey there, apparel chair!

If you clicked on an article like this, we know you already ate as the apparel chair for your sorority, and we’re so proud of you! After hours of scrolling Pinterest to get inspos, running around getting proof after proof, and making sure your sisters love your work, you proved you deserved to be elected the Apparel Chair! Pat yourself on the back and give yourself a high-five - you did it! 

But all good things end at some point and you’re nearing the end of your term now. It’s time to pass the torch. You’re ready to embrace that title of the former apparel chair of your fraternity or sorority exec team.

Aside from that last merch order, there is one big final task up ahead: preparing the incoming apparel chair, your child, the heir to your throne, whatever you want to call them. To pass on the legacy of being an awesome fraternity or sorority apparel chair to the most qualified candidate.

“Why should I prepare someone to be an apparel chair for my chapter?”

“Can’t I just let them learn on the job like I did?”

Quick answer: no. Absolutely not.

Greek life is all about solidarity. Being a family inside the campus. No, not in a Vin Diesel kind of way - but maybe yes, because being a family means you stand by them, especially when they need you!

Dom out here spitting facts. 

Having a great apparel chair transition plan to transfer your duties shows your chapter that you really care for them until the end. You don’t want them to feel lost even when you’re leaving the exec team. You’ve been with them throughout your term and you’re not leaving them high and dry!

Plus, you’d be leaving behind a great legacy as someone who exited with grace. Who knows, you might even inspire the next apparel chair to help their successor, and so on!

“How do I even transition out of my role as the apparel chair of my sorority or fraternity?”

We interviewed some of our Campus Managers who are in a similar position as you for their chapters: Jordan and Sofi!

(If you want to get straight to the tips, you can skip here.)

 

 Left: Jordan Ostrowski ; Right: Sofi Melgarejo

Jordan Ostrowski is a BSc. Business Administration - Marketing student from the University of Dayton and the outgoing merchandising chair of Pi Beta Phi. She’s also an intern at her school’s Athletics Department! A multi-talented queen, indeed.

Sofi Melgarejo is from Indiana University - Bloomington, where she’s pursuing two degrees because she’s cool like that: BSc. Business Management and BA in Cinema and Media Studies. Not only is she the outgoing apparel chair for Zeta Tau Alpha, but she’s also an intern under the Media Relations team of Goldman Sachs!

As Campus Managers, both of them have also worked with several Apparel Chairs of different chapters to get them merch for their orgs. They did this while they were also working on their sororities’ orders, so they’re the queens of time management. Yeah, we bought in the big guns.

Since they’re also in their last few months as the respective apparel chair/merchandising chair of their sororities, we decided to chat.

Here are some tips they gave us on what to do as an outgoing apparel chair of your sorority or fraternity:

1. Organize all your pending work

Cliche saying incoming! 

It’s not about how you start, but how you end. And you’re definitely at the last stretch of things!

You want to tie up loose ends before your term ends, so you’re not cramming things and being bombarded with questions at the last minute. Not only will this stress you out (especially if you’re a graduating student), it might throw your chapter into chaos!

If you’re feeling a little scatter-brained at the moment, try answering these questions:

• What Greek events do you still need to work on until the end of your term?
• Do you have ongoing orders with your vendors or Campus Manager?
• If you have ongoing orders, what’s the current status of that? Are designs approved? Are the shirts for your sorority or fraternity already printed?
• When are you guys supposed to receive your sorority or fraternity shirts? Will anything spill over to the new apparel chair’s term?
• What are the first few orders the new apparel chair should start thinking about, like yesterday? What’s the best way for them to get started on those?

If you’re on top of things, you’ll be able to pull off the next steps well!

You’re gonna chill so much if you’re on top of everything!

2. Talk to all interested candidates and set their expectations

We can all agree that it’s always better to know what you’re getting into before you jump, right?

You’ve been a newbie at your role and you know how potentially nervous the candidates are at what they have to do. For them to really follow in your footsteps, they need to know what to expect when they’re taking over your legacy of being the best apparel chair ever. 

Part of Sofi’s plans for transitioning her role to a new apparel chair is to set up a call with all interested girls over Zoom and give them a rundown of how her role works. 

Block out some time to talk to the interested members, whether it’s over a video call or transition meetings (Pi Phi has these according to Jordan). Here are some things you should discuss with them:

• Why they want to be an apparel chair for the fraternity or sorority you’re in
• What they might experience as an apparel chair, like criticisms or cramming
• A summary of how you strategize ordering all merch on time
• Which exec positions to talk to depending on the event
• Which supplier/apparel company you’re currently working with and why

Setting expectations like this will help you see which interested bros or sisters will work hard and dedicate themselves to the role. The next apparel chair of your chapter will also benefit from the early introduction to the job so they can take over as soon as they’re elected!

3. Compile everything for your successor

Have you ever wished someone gave you a huge manual for your role, including who to contact for apparel?

The next apparel chair will, too.

If you have a bunch of info related to your apparel chair role, collect all of them in one folder for your successor. These can be things such as:

• Contact info of the Campus Manager(s) you’re working with
• Info on any ongoing orders you started that they need to take over
• Info on how you planned merch orders around the org’s event calendar
• Details of the first 3 orders they should start working on soon and how best to go about it
• Any Nationals rules or struggles you went through and what you did that helped
• What tools to use to get info on sizes and addresses like GroupMe, polls, forms, and order links!  
• Merch designs that were a hit in your era and maybe whatever you know about what the former apparel chair for your sorority or fraternity worked on, or;
• Any other info you wish someone told you earlier

When Sofi was an incoming apparel chair, the sister who held the position before her provided a list of the companies they’ve worked with for merch. Sofi used this list to choose the best people to trust with her sorority’s apparel.

Jordan says that being in contact with a CM early in her role helped her figure out what to do and how to order sorority merch. The CM reached out to her first, but you’d be a big help to your successor if you let them the CM’s contact info ASAP.

Once you have everything for your successor ready, you’ll have an easier time releasing them into the wild because they have all the resources they need!

4. Collaborate!

Here comes the really fun part!

No matter how many steps you take to prepare the next apparel chair for your sorority or fraternity, letting them jump into the waters is going to be their best teacher. 

Sofi got to work on her first-ever order, sorority PR merch, with the previous apparel chair for Zeta Tau Alpha, and the experience helped her settle into the role. She got to practice with the then-current apparel chair—something that you can try on your end!

Don’t pass up that chance to work on something with the newly elected apparel chair. They’ll love to learn from you. You might even remember some tricks you can definitely teach. 

You carried that apparel chair flag your entire term, and now you’re ready to pass it on!

With these tips, you’re now ready to pass on the crown to the next elected member. Congrats on being the best apparel chair that your chapter deserves!