OUR STORY
A spot in the program is not guaranteed, but you will be invited to an info meeting by one of our mentors to see if you qualify.
160+ YEARS OF GROWING
Founded in 1855, Southwestern originally published a newspaper and religious booklets that were sold by mail. Today it has grown to one of the largest door-to-door companies in the world. Through its summer program, selling books to help kids with education, it helps young people build character and gain skills needed to achieve their goals in life.
160+ YEARS
OF GROWING
OF GROWING
Founded in 1855, Southwestern originally published a newspaper and religious booklets that were sold by mail. Today it has grown to one of the largest door-to-door companies in the world. Through its summer program, selling books to help kids with education, it helps young people build character and gain skills needed to achieve their goals in life.
PRESENT DAY
2016
2016
Europe1 - 500
The European division of Southwestern Advantage continued growing to 500 active student participants in the summer of 2016.
2011
2011
Southwestern Advantage
New redesigned volumes of educational books called the Southwestern Advantage were introduced and sold from this summer on to help kids and parents with homework, grades, and getting into college. The company was renamed to Southwestern Advantage.
2009
2009
Europe1 - 300
300 students from the Baltics participated in the summer program, and the number of students participating in the leadership program grew higher.
2005
2005
150 years!
The company celebrated 150 years of building young people through the summer program.
2004
2004
Tartu University #1
100 Estonians participated in the program. Many of them were from Tartu University. As a group, they made the best result in sales in the whole company winning the "Top Campus" award.
2001
2001
Europe1 teams in Baltics
11 Estonians, 1 Latvian & 1 Lithuanian were participating for the first time in the summer program. Their Sales Director / Lead Mentor was Chris Adams. Many of them were selected to the leadership program, and one of them, Andres Märtin, has become a Sales Director / Lead Mentor in the Europe1 group himself.
1990
1990
First Estonian
The first Estonian went to sell books and was selected for the leadership program where he stayed for three more years.
1987
1987
Europe1
Chris Adams (1966 - 2014) was recruited to sell books. Starting out as a below-average student, he had worked himself up, building and leading the future Europe1 division – impacting many lives and leaving a great legacy.
1968
1968
100 years!
Times-Mirror Company bought Southwestern, but in 1982 it was repurchased by Southwestern employees. The company was renamed to Southwestern/Great American Incorporated, SWGA Inc.
1947
1947
Rebuilding
By 1947, Southwestern had lost nearly all of its independent dealers as a result of World War II. It was rebuilt, and experienced tremendous growth as the United States rebounded from the Great Depression. The number of independent representatives grew to over 1500.
1939
1939
World War II
World War I led to the mobilization of more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, making it one of the largest wars in history. It is also one of the deadliest conflicts in history, with an estimated 50 to 100 million deaths worldwide. It lasted from 1939 to 1945.
1920
1920
Largest in America
During the 1920s, the firm grew to one of the largest door-to-door sales companies in America.
1914
1914
World War I
135 countries took part, and nearly 10 million people died while fighting. The war was ended in 1918 by the signing of many different treaties like the Treaty of Versailles and the creation of the League of Nations, which was meant to prevent wars. Instead, it led to a larger world war 21 years later.
1903
1903
First airplane
Brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright made four flights with their aircraft "Kitty Hawk". They had invented the first successful airplane.
1879
1879
The invention of the lightbulb
US inventor Thomas Edison filed a patent for an electric lamp.
1868
1868
Summer program
J. R. Graves discontinued the company's mail-order business, and began training young men as independent dealers to sell Bibles and educational books door-to-door as a way to earn money for college.
1861
1861
The American Civil War
The Civil War began between the North and the South, primarily as a result of the controversy over the enslavement of black people. It was ended in 1865.
1855
1855
Southwestern Publishing House
Southwestern Publishing House was established in Nashville, state Tennessee. The company's name was chosen because, at that time, Nashville was in the southwestern part of the United States. Founded by the Baptist minister James Robinson Graves, Southwestern originally published a Southern Baptist newspaper and religious booklets that were sold by mail.
THE BEGINNING
Over 160 years of experience!
Sounds interesting, but there are so many questions? Great, that's exactly what our info meetings are for. Book one now!
USA: 2451 Atrium Way, Nashville, Tennessee
Estonia: Lauteri 5, Tallinn | Kompanii 10, Tartu
Latvia: Elizabetes iela 51, Centra rajons, Rīga
Lithuania: Totorių gatvė 3, Kaunas
Poland: Mickiewicza 33, Poznań
Slovakia: Kollárovo námestie 16, Bratislava
USA: 2451 Atrium Way, Nashville, Tennessee
Estonia: Lauteri 5, Tallinn | Kompanii 10, Tartu
Latvia: Elizabetes iela 51, Centra rajons, Rīga
Lithuania: Totorių gatvė 3, Kaunas
Poland: Mickiewicza 33, Poznań
Slovakia: Kollárovo námestie 16, Bratislava
