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Door-to-door sales not all a scam

Southwestern Co. salesmen work 13-hour days, six days a week to help pay for college education

Robert C. Reed

Benjamin Graybeal and Scott Bradeen display the type of education materials they sell door-to-door every week to raise money for their education.

WHO THEY ARE

The Hickory-based bookmen are:

Eric Jergensen, 21, of Vancouver, Wash.
Attending Washington State University
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Territory: Hickory

Benjamin Graybeal, 24, of Castleford, Idaho
Recent graduate of the University of Idaho
Major: Business administration
Territory: Fred T. Ford High School district

Scott Bradeen, 22, of Kettle Falls, Wash.
Just graduated from Washington State University
Major: Pre-med
Territory: Alexander County

Kielan Stewart, 20, of Federal Way, Wash.
Attending Washington State University
Major: Nursing
Territory: Newton, Conover, Maiden.

By Richard Gould | Hickory Daily Record

Published: June 13, 2009

HICKORY - When they're done with their breakfast, four men in their early 20s gather in the Windy City Grill's parking lot to whoop, holler, jump, shout and dance just about every Saturday morning.

They say they do it to get fired up for a day of going door-to-door selling reference books with the Nashville-based Southwestern Co.

They drove a long way for this job. Three of them came from Washington state and the fourth is from Idaho.

Scott Bradeen, 22, of Kettle Falls, Wash., and Benjamin Graybeal, 24, of Castleford, Idaho, are in their fourth year of selling books, and they're co-managing the Hickory-based team.

Bradeen said Southwestern salesmen work 13-hour days, six days a week. They start their days at 8 a.m. and make their way through neighborhoods carrying sample bags stuffed with reference books and computer programs.

Graybeal said the reference books are their top sellers.

They're about 1,000 pages thick and packed with study guides that cover the highlights of the major subjects taught from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Catawba County Schools' Public Information Officer Carleen Crawford recently issued a press release stating, "Salespersons are representing themselves as associated with or representing Catawba County Schools when making their sales pitch to parents with children."

The release goes on to state that Catawba County Schools does not endorse or recommend any of the books, magazines or products and encourages those who feel intimidated or threatened by the salesmen to contact the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.

Bradeen and Graybeal quickly point out that the statement, "These products are neither offered nor sponsored by any school district," is printed on their sales receipts in bold letters.

"People do tend to assume we're with the school district," Graybeal said. "When we sit down with them, the first thing we tell people is that we're not with the school system. We're college kids — this is our summer internship."

The internship is conducted through Trevecca Nazarene University's business department in Nashville, Tenn., according to the school's Web site.

As for brushes with law enforcement, Graybeal said the police do get called out from time to time when people want to make sure the salesmen are legitimate.

He said the officers he's dealt with are patient and understanding, and once they see the salesmen have the proper identification badges and sales licenses, they are allowed to continue knocking on doors.

The team's summer started with a week of intensive sales school in Nashville, Bradeen said. They arrived in Hickory on May 15, where the four of them live with a host family. They will work in this area until mid-August, when they deliver the books they've sold before heading back home.

The Southwestern Co. has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.