Jay County 'Patriot Edition' hits the final pose of their 2024 show
(PHOTO: Nathan Ensley / @nensley.photography)
As the oldest competitive show choir circuit, Fort Wayne groups have had decades to build their legacies. Notable groups like Huntington North and Churubusco have been competing since the '80s and '90s. Among the local powerhouse groups, however, few are as young as Jay County.
For two years in the 1990s, Jay County did have a show choir. In 1998, Jay County “Friendship Company” competed at Lawrence Central where they did not receive a placement. The next year they went to a non-competitive event and were not seen again until 2007, when they went to DeKalb. At that point, the program was most likely not taken seriously by other contenders in the area.
Jay County “Patriot Edition” and Jay County's unisex group, at the time called “Danza Cantana,” made their competitive debuts in 2012 at the Huntington North Midwest Showcase. Unsurprisingly, neither group placed in their first outing. However, under the new direction of Susan Denney, Patriot Edition returned to competition in 2014. In 2016, their unisex group, “Just Treble” (get the pub?) formed and competed alongside the mixed group. Just Treble found success within its first couple seasons, placing twice in 2017.
In 2018, Patriot Edition placed for the first time. The next year, Jay County won its first-ever Small Mixed division. In fact, they won not just one but two divisions that year! For a young growing program like Jay County, it was a huge achievement, as the group had started competing really only five years prior.
In 2020, Jay County was on a roll and won Small Mixed at three competitions in a row. Considering how volatile that division can be, it was a true testament to the group's consistency.
Once the pandemic was mostly over in 2022, the Jay County of the present took shape. This past season, Just Treble defeated large groups, such as Homestead Elite, and beat similarly competitive unisex groups throughout the season. At Noblesville, Jay County came in second, only falling short to Northridge, a group that featured many more members.
Patriot Edition's 2024 show featured the story of a runaway.
(PHOTO: Nathan Ensley / @nensley.photography)
Despite stepping into the country's oldest show choir circuit in an era where many groups were fully developed, Jay County found success well within its first decade of competing. Additionally, shows like Just Treble's Barbie show in 2024 have gained reputations as great crowd-pleasers. The entire program serves as a testament to the fact that it is truly possible to achieve success by being scrappy and working hard - and that sometimes, it's the fresh blood that makes a show choir circuit interesting.
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