986. A Day in the Life: What’s It Really Like to Be a TV and Media Sales Expert?

“At the height of my senior year at Lane Tech College Prep High School I had received scholarship offers to run track at most of the top colleges and universities in the country: my future path was clear and quite promising. The day after our team had set the record for the fastest indoor mile relay in the country of 3:19:05, at the Chicago City Indoor Championship, I was competing in a 60-yard dash event and tore my hamstring in half. The doctors told me I would never be able to run competitively again and would likely walk with a limp from here on out. Every scholarship offer disappeared, and my dream of higher education was broken. I resigned myself to getting a job at the U.S. Post Office or UPS. Out of the blue a high school friend of mine–Phil Ferguson–who was playing football for Drake University, recommended that their Relays Team Director, Bob Ehrhart, take a look at my stellar record of multiple high school championships via newspaper articles that had been written about me and my team. Coach Ehrhart had never heard of me, but he agreed to check me out. Once he read my record of high achievement in every area of track and field, he reached out to me and my mother and offered me a full scholarship to Drake University. The course of my life and career was forever changed thanks to Phil Ferguson’s kind gesture and coach Ehrhart’s decision to give me a try. I am forever grateful to each of them.”

Louis Carr has been with BET Networks for 35 years, serving as the President of Media Sales for the last 19 years. During his tenure with the company, he has transformed the multicultural space for some of the world’s biggest brands. He also founded the Louis Carr Internship Foundation (LCIF) 18 years ago to help improve diversity in corporate America through paid internships. The foundation has provided 188 paid internships, in which 50 alumni now have full-time jobs within the industry. Staying true to his commitment of giving back, Carr launched his latest brand–WayMaker–to help provide direction, wisdom and inspiration to people wanting to grow their life and change the world.