By Peyton Woods

For Adleigh Mayes, peanuts aren’t just a snack. They’re part of who she is.

So when her dad, Jeremy, sent a link in their family group chat about the Planters Peanutter Program, her curiosity was quickly piqued.

“At first, I thought it was a joke,” Mayes said with a laugh. “The picture was a giant peanut on wheels. But then I clicked the link and started reading about it — the travel, the people you meet, the creativity involved — and I thought, ‘Wait, this actually sounds amazing.’”

That was November 2024. Today, she’s on a yearlong adventure driving the giant peanut-shaped Nutmobile across America, spreading smiles and educating others about peanuts.

It’s fitting for Mayes, a native of Dothan in Houston County. Dothan is the self-proclaimed Peanut Capital of the World — full of dusty peanut fields, fall festivals and a community that celebrates Alabama’s official state legume every fall.

Mayes played to her strengths and south Alabama roots while filming her 60-second application video. She recorded footage around Dothan — posing beside the city’s beloved peanut statues and shooting inside her family’s shelling plant.

“I started the video by saying, ‘My name is Adleigh Mayes, and I guess you could say peanuts are in my roots,’” she said. “It just felt right.”

The clever and personal approach helped her stand out among nearly 900 applicants.

The application process stretched on for months, including written materials, video interviews and group exercises. Mayes was one of eight finalists flown to Planters’ headquarters in Chicago for an in-person evaluation. There, she met her future teammates, Aria and Hudson, as the finalists collaborated on creative challenges and mock campaigns designed to test their teamwork and communication skills.

On the final day, each candidate was asked to name two people with whom they’d want to spend the next year. Unwittingly, Mayes, Aria and Hudson chose one another.

“It’s funny to look back on that moment now,” said Mayes, 22. “We didn’t realize we were picking our dream team that day.”

A few days later, Mayes’ phone rang early in the morning. On the other end was her soon-to-be boss calling from Minnesota, home of Planters’ parent company, Hormel Foods.

“I was still half asleep when I answered,” she recalled. “But once I realized what was happening, that I got the job, I was just so excited. I couldn’t believe it.”

Within weeks of graduation from Freed-Hardeman University with a degree in public relations, Mayes packed her bags for Peanut Prep. The weeklong training in Minnesota taught the new Peanutters everything from public relations techniques to mascot etiquette to safely driving the 26-foot Nutmobile.

“It felt like summer camp,” Mayes said with a smile.

Since then, her schedule has been packed with travel days, community events and countless opportunities to connect with people from all walks of life. She’s visited cities big and small, from the hustle of New York City to the peaceful charm of the Outer Banks, representing a brand that’s been part of her life since childhood.

Everywhere she goes, she meets new people, tells her story and brings a bit of Dothan’s peanut pride to every stop.

“It’s funny,” she said. “My dad used to bring home peanuts from work, and now I’m driving one around the country. It really has come full circle.”