- Everyone attending our Tuesday luncheon will be asked to wear a mask, except when eating. Masks will be available at registration.
- As Rotarians, one of our areas of focus is preventing and fighting disease, most notably our efforts to eradicate Polio through vaccination. Rotary has announced it will tap into its decades of experience to help support COVID-19 vaccine education and delivery. (Read more here.) In keeping with Rotary’s mission of service above self, we strongly recommend that only those members and guests that are vaccinated attend our in-person meetings.
John Holcomb plays a pivotal role as Sports Director of the News On 6 Sports’ team. Holcomb began his career at KOTV in November 1995, and since September 1999, Holcomb has anchored the weeknight sportscasts for The News On 6 at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. He also co-hosts the “Oklahoma Sports Blitz” statewide along with Oklahoma City Sports Director, Dean Blevins, Sunday nights immediately following the local news on both The News On 6 and NEWS 9. During high school football season, Holcomb also anchors “Friday Football Blitz,” Tulsa’s high school football show.
Holcomb attended Oklahoma Baptist University on a basketball scholarship, graduating with a degree in journalism in May 1988. He worked at radio station KGFF in Shawnee and at the Oklahoma News Network before becoming a news reporter at KXII-TV in Sherman, Texas in 1989. From there, he moved to KSWO-TV in Lawton to work as weekend sports anchor in April 1991. In January 1993, he was named sports director at KFDA-TV in Amarillo, Texas.
John is the Co-Host of the radio blitz on SportsTalk 1400AM and 1430AM The Buzz every Thursday from 7-8am with the Voice of the Sooners Toby Rowland.
Today, Holcomb is entering his sixth season as the radio color analyst for OSU football, and his fourth season as the analyst for OSU men’s basketball on the Cowboy Sports Network. He has also done play-by-play work for Cox high school football and basketball broadcasts. Holcomb was named the Oklahoma Sportscaster of the Year in 2001 and 2002 by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.
Holcomb loves basketball, golf, tennis, and, in his words, “about anything else that requires some coordination without total physical exhaustion.” He says, “My wife, Jeanna, and I fell in love with northeastern Oklahoma and the people who live here. It’s really a privilege to work in an area of the country where there are such quality people who just happen to be so passionate about sports.”
The Holcombs have two daughters, Melody and Maggie, and are members of Cedar Ridge Christian Church in Broken Arrow.
Listen to John and Toby Thursday’s from 7-8am on 99.3 FM, SportsTalk 1400AM, 1430AM “The Buzz “or state wide on sportstalk1400.com
Toby Rowland has been the host of the “T-Row in the Morning Show” since 2004 alongside his Very Best Friend in the Entire World, TJ Perry.
In 2017 he famously became known as the “Voice of the Sooners.” He serves as radio play-by-play for OU football, men’s basketball and baseball, as well as hosting the Lon Kruger, Sherri Coale and Lincoln Riley TV/Radio shows. Rowland also serves as TV host for a wide variety of programming on Sooner Sports TV powered by FOX.
A two-time Emmy Award winner, Rowland spent 12 years as a sports anchor, reporter and producer at KWTV 9 in Oklahoma City. He won the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters Award for best sportscast and the Society of Professional Journalists Award for Best Sports Reporting. Rowland became a household name in Oklahoma as host of the award-winning “Friday Football Blitz,” taking high school football coverage to a new level in the state.
Rowland’s play-by-play résumé includes serving as the “Voice of Southern Nazarene University” football, basketball and baseball, and as “Voice of the Norman Tigers.” Rowland also was a part of the Oklahoma RedHawks broadcast team for two seasons.
A 1995 graduate of Southern Nazarene University, Toby is married to his college sweetheart, Jennifer. They have three children: Trevor (22), Payton (20) and Chloe (13).
Toby is also the author of the best selling children’s book “Unhitch The Wagon” a story book about the famed Oklahoma Football ponies Boomer and Sooner. A delightful book for Sooner fans of all ages!
Moderator: Berry Tramel
Berry Tramel was born in Norman and is a lifelong sports fan and newspaper reader. He entered the newspaper business at the age of 17 at The Norman Transcript. He Joined The Oklahoman in 1991 and has served as beat writer, assistant sports editor, sports editor, and columnist. He is heard five days a week as a guest commentator on WWLS Radio in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
Tramel and his wife, Tricia, live in Norman near their daughter, son-in-law, and three granddaughters.
Lezel Safi maintains active volunteer roles in the Oklahoma City non-profit community with the CARE Center Board of Directors, Rainbow Fleet Child Care Resource Center and Early Childhood Center Board of Directors, Member of Class 38 Leadership Oklahoma City, United Way Women’s Leadership Council, and Club 29 Downtown OKC Rotary International Member, serves on the Palomar Legal Network Committee, and serves as the Program Administrator for the William J. Holloway, Jr. American Inn of Courts.
Lezel holds a Juris Doctorate from Oklahoma City University School of Law, a Master’s in Business Administration from Oklahoma City University, and her Bachelors of Science in Design, Housing & Merchandising from Oklahoma State University. She is a member of the Federal, Oklahoma and Oklahoma County Bar Associations.
Lezel has been married to her husband Rick for almost 25 years and her biggest and proudest accomplishments are her children Ariana (20), Evan (17) and Tye Hill (15). She is an active yogi and marathon runner so she has the energy to keep up with her family and life.
Lezel Safi leads her family law practice with purpose, passion, and progress. She is not only a heart-centered advocate for her clients, but she helps remove the emotion out of the process so things run smoothly, peacefully, and efficiently.