Spencer Boehme sent well over 100 cold contacting emails in pursuit of a play-by-play job. One of those struck gold. An STAA member, Boehme is the new men and women’s basketball, baseball and softball voice at NCAA DII Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, AR.
Boehme will also provide football color commentary for the Reddies. He follows fellow STAA member Cyrus Wittig.
STAA members were notified of the opening in mid-July. Boehme, though, learned through his cold-contacting campaign in June that the position might open.
NCAA goal
“I mostly emailed Division II schools, but I also emailed other schools and some radio stations,” Boehme says.
“My biggest hope this year was to do collegiate broadcasting, so this is a dream job for me. It’s part-time, so I have to find a second job, but it’ll look great on my resume no less. After getting to work with student radio calling games at Division I Lipscomb, including a game at Madison Square Garden, this is a dream come true.
Boehme graduated this spring from Lipscomb University in Nashville. He joined STAA halfway through his senior year. “I reached out to [STAA Owner Jon Chelesnik] for some career advice, to which he responded. A year later, as I was entering my last semester of college, I joined STAA, and he remembered me!”
Cold contacting plan
Boehme’s cold contacting netted a few phone calls, one job offer before Henderson State and one formal interview for a full-time position. His decision to make the six-hour drive from his home near Nashville to visit Arkadelphia was a game-changer.
“I had an offer at that point, but it was part-time, so I wanted to see if I could make a life in southwestern Arkansas,” Boehme recalls. “During that trip, I visited a local state park and Hot Springs, and Memphis during my trip there and back. That trip left a big imprint on me.
“Ultimately, and I understand not everyone has a background of faith, I have to credit God for this job, because I feel like he’s put me in all the places I’ve needed to be to get to this point.”
Persevere and innovate
Boehme’s advice to other cold-contactors is to persevere. “I spent six months emailing people and being given false hope. People would respond back and say that they might need some play-by-play, and then I’d never hear from them again. It’s a dejecting process, and it will make you lose hope sometimes. And that’s a very valid emotional process to go through. But just keep going on.
“Perhaps more importantly, always innovate and tweak your process. For example, if you email one person at a college and don’t hear back, email a different person at that same college a few months later. Let’s just say that worked for me.”