#1 Alane Zannotti
Alane grew up in Stillwater and graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science in family relations/child development. She moved away for almost 10 years and came back to Stillwater in 2005 to fundraise for her alma mater. While working for the OSU Foundation, she opened up Zannotti's Wine Bar in Downtown Stillwater in 2008.
In 2009, Alane took a position with Meridian Technology Center in Extension Education/Community Development. She sold her half of Zannotti's in 2014 and continues to be active in the community serving on various boards and committees. Alane loves Stillwater and appreciates the opportunity to be back living in the community she grew up in.
Les Thomas Sr. is the host of the StillwaterAmerica Podcast. Les is a retired veteran and Oklahoma Native. He honorably served in the United States Air Force for 20 years as the Lead Travel Pay Accountant amongst other high-level duties and responsibilities. During that time, he served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
Les made a career outside of the military as a notable music artist, traveling as a motivational speaker, and being a staple in his community. He has been writing, creating, and producing music since 2003. In 2011, he embarked on a solo career and released 3 albums, two of which charted on iTunes. He’s been featured in three of the top five Hip Hop magazines; The Source, Hype Magazine, and Urban magazine. His final album “Vertical” and first book entitled, “Three Levels of Influence” will be released later this year in 2022.
During football and basketball seasons, you can catch Les on the microphone at Oklahoma State University games hyping up as many as 60,000 people. He takes great pride in helping fans have a great game day experience. Prior to being the voice of the game day experience, Les led pre-game chapel with the Football team. He delivered encouraging and motivational messages that helped set the mental stage for the players.