(March 23, 2017) From the ashes of one application, Spenser Smith has risen to a new job in independent baseball. An STAA member, Smith has been named the Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations for the Florence Freedom.
The Freedom are part of the Frontier League. The opportunity to broadcast for them came when Smith interviewed with another Frontier League team in January.
“After one phone interview, the team moved onto other candidates for the position, but the hiring manager was impressed with my skillset and very graciously sent my materials to the Freedom, who had an unpublished opening,” Smith smiles.
“I followed up with the Freedom immediately and had a great phone conversation with the general manager, Josh Anderson, who offered me the position later that same week.”
Baseball broadcasting has kept Smith mostly on the west coast. His experience includes calling games for the Walla Walla Sweets, the California Winter League, and most recently, the Portland Pickles.
“This is my first lead broadcasting job in professional baseball. It’s a terrific opportunity because it allows me to step up and run the media department in a way that not only pushes me to learn and grow as a broadcaster, but also that allows me to help the organization at large by exploring ways to engage the team’s fan base.”
Hitting the job market during the offseason reminded Smith of the benefit in maintaining industry relationships. Smith also understands that bringing value to potential employers means developing non-broadcasting abilities.
“I committed myself to learning new skills during the offseason, including audio and video editing, keeping in mind that throughout the minor leagues, employers typically place greater value on media relations and other skills than on broadcasting.”
Smith values his STAA membership in two important areas of career development.
“In an industry full of constant ups and downs, sportscasters at all levels of experience must seek constant improvement while simultaneously keeping a positive mindset. The various resources that Jon Chelesnik provides through STAA have helped me tremendously in both areas. My STAA membership has undoubtedly been a driving force behind my career success thus far.”
(Visit Spenser’s STAA Talent Page).