A Three-Day Summit of Training, Speakers, and Presentations Centered on Team-Building

Southwestern Advantage’s Great Recruiters Seminar of 2023 brought hundreds of leaders together, at the Grand Hyatt luxury hotel in Nashville Tennessee, for a three-day summit of training, speakers, and presentations centered on team-building as well as personal and professional growth. This year’s Great Recruiters Seminar (GRS) emphasized the importance of a perfect effort rather than being results focused.
Students checked into the luxury hotel Friday afternoon and dove right into training that evening. Saturday morning began with a 5k walk/run around downtown Nashville, a tradition that helps foster comradery and maintains the Southwestern Advantage ideology of “choosing the harder path to become your best self.” To encourage the theme of ‘perfect effort’ and promptness, meetings began at 8:59 each morning. The students explored Nashville’s offerings of soul food and country cooking during their two-hour meal breaks.
The three-day seminar packed a punch with over 21 hours of material for the students to implement in their recruiting and sales methods. College students received training from some of Southwestern’s most successful recruiters and leaders from around the world. Some of the topics discussed were leadership & relationship building, mentorship, empowerment, as well as sales techniques like eliminating cancellations, increasing customers, selling annual subscriptions, and using social media successfully. Martin Pilipiak, a full-time Southwestern Advantage Global Internship Program Recruiter, said that even after being a part of the program for 7 years he loves that GRS continuously teaches him, “technical knowledge on how to take big concepts and apply them daily to impact the lives of my peers.”

Celebrating Dan Moore as He Retires from Southwestern Advantage

GRS was also a time to recognize and celebrate the retirement of Southwestern Advantage’s former President, Dan Moore. Dan has impacted an estimated 150,000 – 200,000 students over the past 49 years with the company. He has become a cornerstone of our company and his legacy will continue through his example of servant leadership, the memorable stories and lessons he has shared, and the relationships he has built. “Dan has played a foundational role in the success of Southwestern Advantage and Southwestern Family of Companies,” said Henry Bedford, CEO and Chairman of the Board at SWFC. “His caring and mentorship of students each summer has been integral in the professional path of many alumni, including many within our very own Family of Companies.”
To thank Dan for his years of service, there was a Retirement Extravaganza held where he was celebrated. As a surprise gift, Michael Shane Neal, who is a protégé of America’s most celebrated figurative and portrait painter, created a painting in Dan’s likeness to be displayed outside of the auditorium in the Southwestern corporate campus. The former President also gave his final annual speaking part focused on life advice.

The Annual Freddies Award Ceremony Recognizes the Top Performers of 2022

The 2023 Great Recruiters Seminar concluded with the J. Fred Landers Awards Banquet, better known as The Freddies. This event is the finale to the weekend as well as a celebration for the biggest achievements within Southwestern Advantage in 2022. The Freddies invites Alumni, current students, parents, special guests from The Southwestern Family of Companies, host families, and valued employees to the event. Not only was this a night of recognition for top performers, but also a momentous occasion to celebrate all individuals who have participated and are participating in the Southwestern Advantage Internship Program.
The awards recognized over the course of the weekend are listed below. We offer our congratulations to the award winners, nominees, and individuals who have grown throughout the year. We are excited for what is to come in 2023!