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For the second year, Southwestern Company asked student dealers to nominate their host families for the prestigious “Host Family of the Year” Award. The company was flooded with entries. With both an alumni category and another for non-alumni hosts, it was difficult to narrow the field and choose a winner.
During the summer, host families serve as a home-away-from-home for the students who relocate to another region of the country to run their sales business. The hosts serve as mentors, providers and listeners. Southwestern appreciates every one of the families that open their homes and hearts.
The winners received an expense-paid weekend in Music City, USA (Nashville, TN) where they could tour local attractions, enjoy Southern dining and hospitality and reunite with the students they housed last summer.
And the winners are:
Al and Christine Cote, Pittsfield, MA
Nominated by two of their three tenants, the Cotes’ helped David Peters, Joel Kosch and Tyler Clay make the transition from Midwest life to New England life. Joel and Tyler attend the University of Nebraska in Kearney, while David attends the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.
This father/daughter duo welcomed these Southwestern dealers for the first time this past summer and showered them with unconditional kindness and hospitality. From waiting up at night to ask about their day to sharing their food and vehicles, they did not even charge rent. Al and Chris were “down-to-earth” hosts, providing countless meals, welcoming the three boys into their family, sharing their faith and running small errands. With Al’s quick sense of humor, he was still able to have deep conversations about life and fatherhood, which the boys appreciated.
Regular contact is still kept. In fact, when Joel’s parents, Tom and Linda Kosch, from Humphrey, Nebraska, found out the Cote’s won, they knew they had to meet the people who had such an influence on their son’s summer experience. Together they attended the 11th Annual J. Fred Landers Awards Banquet in Nashville on January 16, 2010 at the Wildhorse Saloon.
84-year old Al was very happy to make the trip with his daughter to spend some time in Nashville and learn more about Southwestern Company. The adventure began when the three young men asked to speak at various Church services in Pittsfield, seeking temporary housing for the summer. They wound up at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Pittsfield. The second Church member’s home they visited, both parties knew it was a match.
Jim and Bonnie Leonard, Mesa, AZ
The winners in the category of “Southwestern Alumni” who housed student dealers are Jim and Bonnie Leonard. If there were such a thing, they would be first ballot locks for the Southwestern Host Family Hall of Fame.
While Jim sold books for six summers starting in 1965 with his wife, Bonnie, by his side, what they have done since then is even more impressive! Chances are if students dealers ran their independent business anywhere in Arizona in the last 20 years, they have either lived with or met the Leonard’s.
Over the years, the Leonard’s have housed, at their last count, over 300 students. Jim says selling books has truly turned into a lifetime of friendships. In addition to housing, they have hosted many, many training meetings and they were instrumental in helping Southwestern Company get their Southern Hemisphere selling program get off the ground.
Southwestern Company is truly indebted to the Leonard’s for all they have done for student dealers over the years and hope their lives have been as impacted as much as those of the students they have impacted. They were nominated by someone who was impacted by them, Southwestern Director of Sales, Nate Vogel, who stayed with the Leonard’s when he was participating in the summer sales program.
THE SOUTHWESTERN COMPANY
The Southwestern Company was established in 1855 in Nashville, TN and is the oldest direct selling company in the nation.
In 1868, Southwestern began giving college students the opportunity run their own businesses and gain valuable life skills in the process. Today, Southwestern markets a family-oriented children’s learning system which includes educational and reference books, CD-ROMs and a subscription-based website through a sales force of nearly 3,000 college students each summer, representing approximately 300 colleges and universities from North and South America, Europe and Africa.
Southwestern’s parent corporation is Southwestern/Great American, Inc. (SW/GA) which is one of the largest privately held companies in Middle Tennessee.
SW/GA’s essential business philosophy is “we build people and these people build our businesses.” It all stems back to Southwestern’s motto of “Building Character in Young People.” Experience students gain while running a business during their college years constitutes the primary advantage in the ultimate success of these businesses. Dealers who distinguish themselves in the summer sales program are the future leaders of SW/GA’s sales-based businesses. SW/GA is a business incubator, developing from our core business of direct sales to 12 current operating units and several more in development.
Each company contains various divisions and subsidiaries in the fields of direct sales, insurance, investment services, fund-raising, consulting, public speaking, training, professional placement and publishing among others. www.southwestern.com
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