Randy Spetman - Abraham Lincoln '71

Randy Spetman’s acceptance into the U.S. Air Force Preparatory School in Colorado Springs launched an impressive career that took him around the world.

Randy’s positions ranged from assistant football coach to athletic director at the Air Force Academy. In between, he served as a pilot, chief bomber of planning in Operations Desert Shield and Storm and chief of command and control division of the U.S. European Command in Suttgart, Germany.

After retiring from the military, Randy combined his love of sports and management and became athletic director for Utah State and then Florida State. (We have forgiven Randy for the Florida State decision!)

Randy share some of his favorite memories with us:

“Friday night football games are some of my fondest memories. The rivalry between AL and TJ was incredible. I was an undersized lineman but loved playing the game. We did not win many games, but our quarterback, Kevin Sigler, was the number one high school quarterback in the nation.

“I remember building the homecoming float for our class our junior year. A bunch of us worked extremely hard on the float. We built it at Carolyn Beno’s house and worked around the clock. We may even have missed a few classes – but I won’t go there. The Benos owned Beno’s Department Store on Broadway and treated us fantastic. I can’t remember what the theme was, but we made a flying saucer that actually rotated.”

“Lastly, and probably one of my greatest memories is being mentored by Joe Hauser, one of the biology instructors. Joe was a true mentor to me in those days, and I received a lot of sage advice. We sometimes went pheasant hunting, and he taught me the skills of taxidermy. Joe is just one example of the truly fantastic instructors at AL at that time.”