The Tennessean – Slideshow of Famous Southwestern Alumni

Becky Bauman — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:47:27 +0000

In my years with the Southwestern Company I have heard, as well as told, many tales of some of the famous alumni that have traversed the bookfield. After becoming Southwestern’s alumni specialist, I quickly learned that this is an often requested list of people. Unfortunately, my database of alumni did not come with a “Rich and Famous” button; so I created one. It is a subjective list of course, but is filled with the names of many bookpeople, recognizable and not. Sales people all know the importance of a golden name.

In fact, I’d like to thank Mr. Neville, the fourth grade teacher at Bow Elementary in New Hampshire, for being my golden name my third summer on the bookfield. His testimonial and recommendation of the Volume Library boosted my sales tremendously. A recognizable name has always been a great way to build trust.

Click to view the slideshow in The Tennessean

Recently The Tennessean published a slideshow of photos of the Southwestern Company and several of the locally famous alumni who have worked in the summer program. It includes local Tennessee alumni: Former Metro Councilman George Armistead III; Tennessee entrepreneur Jim Ayers; US Representative Marsha Blackburn; Retired Southwestern CEO, Ralph Mosley; Tennessee entrepreneur Ted Welch; Tennessee entrepreneur Sam Kirk; and current Southwestern CEO and Chairman, Henry Bedford.

National alumni included: Former Federal Prosecutor, Ken Starr; Texas Governor, Rick Perry; and Evangelist and Best-Selling Author Max Lucado.

Also included in the slideshow are various photos of Southwestern headquarters on Atrium Way in Nashville and student dealers in training at “Sales School.”

In seeking out our “Rich and Famous” alumni, it has been the bookpeople whose names may not jump out at you that intrigue me the most. Many of our alumni who have created successful businesses and lives do not live in the public eye. They have taken the skills they learned at Southwestern and have become the “Millionaires Next Door”.

Check out some of our Alumni Spotlights and look for more success stories of Southwestern alumni in the coming weeks.

Who do you know that sold books that should be on our “Rich and Famous” list?

The Southwestern Company Alumni Blog » Jim Ayers

The Tennessean – Slideshow of Famous Southwestern Alumni