The Spirit of Oklahoma Show Chorus                   

The Shawnee New-Star front page for March 26, 1948 included this headline:  BARBERSHOP QUARTET INTEREST HERE MAY PUSH LOCAL CHAPTER.  

Lanette Sikes entered the world in Shawnee on the same day.  Coincidence? 

Music and performance have been part of Lanette's life since age three, when she started tap dance lessons.  She soon learned to play piano by ear, and got her first ukulele at the age of six.  Her sixth grade music teacher scolded her for singing harmony when the melody was too high, so she stopped singing for a while and took up the clarinet-which she played in elementary, high school and her high school and college stage bands.  Lanette came back to vocal music in junior high school, singing in various mixed quartets, trios and small groups throughout junior high, high school and college.  In her spare time, Lanette sang and played the banjo in high school and college folk groups.  Lanette's special talents include storytelling and juggling.  She also knows how to play the nose flute.

Lanette has an Associate's Degree in Early Childhood Education and currently works for Shawnee Public Schools as a Classroom Assistant, teaching 4 year olds.  She has been with the Shawnee School system since 1976, where she has also worked as a Library Assistant. 

Lanette says she "finally heard about" Sweet Adelines in the late '80's.  She has sung with and been assistant director of three Sweet Adeline choruses.  She became director of Spirit of Oklahoma Show Chorus in January 2004, and helped the chorus achieve a "Third Place Small Chorus" award at  Region 25 's competition later that spring.

Lanette has been married to husband Cliff Sikes for 40 years.  They have a daughter, Jana and--Lanette's pride and joy--a five-year-old granddaughter, Jordan.

                                                                                                  Above Photo-Lanette and Jordan at 2007 Cleveland County Relay for Life.