story

Show Design: Barry Artis
Music: Selections from "Forest Gump"
Staff: Barry Artis, Jenny Seig & Joe Flynn
To say that Paradigm started from humble beginnings would be an understatement. In 1994, Joe & Janet Flynn along with friend John Burley, becoming frustrated with the direction of the local high school marching band program, decided to start an independent winterguard. Recruiting strictly from local Lake City schools, where no winterguard programs existed, ten performers with an average age of under 14 (including one 10 year old) began rehearsing an activity that they had never seen before. With this, the Spirit of the Suwannee Independent Winter Guard was born. Almost from the start, a close affiliation took place between the new Lake City guard and the 1994 W.G.I. World Championship Gold Medalist Florida Visual Ensemble through the volunteer instruction of Barry Artis and Jenny Seig. With a first year goal of simply putting a guard on the competitive floor, the Spirit of the Suwannee placed eighth in novice class at the 1995 Florida Federation of Colorguards Circuit Championship.

Show Design: Barry Artis
Music: "Kayla's Ride"
Staff: Barry Artis & Joe Flynn
The fall of 1995 saw the Spirit of the Suwannee grow in both membership and abilities, again assisted by a close relationship with the Florida Visual Ensemble, and the guard entered the Florida Federation of Colorguards Circuit in the newly developed Regional A Class. The progress made by the guard was quickly evident, however, and by the third show of the season, the guard was promoted to the Independent A Class. Continuing to progress throughout the season, Suwannee qualified as a WGI Regional finalist for the first time at the 1996 South Regional in Pensacola, placing third overall. To the surprise of many, including the guard's staff and performers, Paradigm finished the season on a high note by being named the 1996 Florida of Federation of Colorguards Circuit Independent A Class Champions.

Show Design: Rick Schuhr
Music: "Pax Deorum"
Staff: Rick Schuhr, John Cross, Shannon Russell, Joe Flynn
The 1997 season was one of continued progress for the Spirit of the Suwannee Winterguard. While not always successful on the competition floor, the guard established itself as a more mature program, now with an average age of 17. Travelling to Phoenix, Arizona for the W.G.I. World Championships, the guard failed to attain semi-finalist status but with a vastly increased equipment and movement vocabulary, set the stage for future success.

Show Design: Vincent Thomas & Barry Artis
Music: "St. John's Passion"
Staff: Vincent Thomas, Darin Morrow, Lopez Reese, Mary McWilliams
The fall of 1997 brought the desire to set a new direction for the guard. No longer a young, inexperienced group of performers, the guard was now attracting graduates of some of the finest scholastic programs in Florida. Vincent Thomas became affiliated with the program and brought in a new team of instructors, most of whom had worked together previously on the staff of the Carolina Crown Drum & Bugle Corps. In light of the dramatic changes taking place within the organization, the decision was made to re-form the guard under a new name. After a great deal of discussion, and based on the vote of the guard's performers, the name Paradigm was selected. Tying the past to the present, Barry Artis returned to the guard in a design and advisory role.
The 1998 season was to prove to be the most successful yet for the guard. Name the Florida Federation of Colorguards Circuit Independent A Class Champion for the second time in three years, Paradigm went on to place 30th at the 1998 Winter Guard International World Championships, earning a semi-finalist position for the first time.

Show Design: Barry Artis & Vincent Thomas
Music: "My Favorite Things"
Staff: Barry Artis, Vincent Thomas, Darin Morrow, Lopez Reese, Mary McWilliams
The 1999 edition of Paradigm built on the successes of 1998 to produce the largest guard in its history. Presenting a show that proved both entertaining to the audience and challenging to perform, Paradigm was named one of Field & Floor's Top 30 Color Guards in the nation. No longer simply a small, local guard program, Paradigm now attracted performers from as far south as St. Petersburg, as far west as Tallahassee, and as far east as Jacksonville.
For the first time, Paradigm ventured to an out of state regional, attending the Carolina Regional in Rock Hill, SC. Qualifying as a finalist at four Winter Guard International Regional Championships, Paradigm ended the 1999 season again named the Florida Federation of Colorguards Circuit Independent A Class Champion.
Disappointment was to be the word, though, at the 1999 W.G.I. World Championships in Dayton. Finishing third in the preliminary round with a score of 88, the guard entered semi-finals confident of its ability to reach a World Championship finalist spot for the first time. It was not to be, however, as Paradigm placed 16th, missing finals by a mere one-tenth of a point.

Show Design: Barry Artis & Vincent Thomas
Music: "Cool"
Staff: Barry Artis, Vincent Thomas, Darin Morrow, Shannon Russell, Suzy Van Rees
Continuing to build on the success of 1999 and 2000, Paradigm presented a program titled "Cool" that received strong audience response throughout Florida and at the World Championships. Qualifying for finalist positions in all regionals attended, Paradigm wore the "bridesmaid dress" at both the Suncoast and South Florida Regionals (after having won preliminaries).
Ranked only 19th going into the 2000 Winter Guard International World Championships, Paradigm stormed through preliminaries and semi-finals scoring as high as 92.05 at the Thursday night Semi-Finals competition. Avenging the one-tenth of a point miss of finals in 1999, Paradigm ended the year with a solid ninth place finish at the 2000 World Championships.

Show Design: Barry Artis & Vincent Thomas
Music: "Birdland"
Staff: Barry Artis, Vincent Thomas, Darin Morrow, Shannon Russell, Suzy Van Rees, Marcus Rankin
Paradigm enjoyed its best season ever in 2001, named a Field & Floor Top Color Guard for the third consecutive season, and being crown Regional Champions at the Suncoast, First Coast and South WGI Regional Championships as well as the Florida Federation of Colorguards Circuit Champions for the fourth consecutive year.
Expecting the best at the 2001 Winter Guard International World Championships, the guard experienced near disaster with a poor preliminary run that left them in eleventh place. Not giving up, the guard's performers took up the challenge with a strong semi-finals run that moved the guard to seventh and another outstanding performance at finals. In the end, Paradigm placed fifth at the 2001 W.G.I. World Championships, missing a promotion to the Independent Open class by less than one-half point.

Show Design: Barry Artis & Vincent Thomas
Music: "Wayfaring Stranger"
Staff: Barry Artis, Vincent Thomas, Shannon Russell, Suzy Van Rees, Marcus Rankin, Doris Brown
Paradigm continued building a history of success by being named the 2002 Winter Guard International World Championship Independent A Class Silver Medalists. Going undefeated throughout the season until the World Championship Finals Competition, Paradigm was also named the 2002 W.G.I. Suncoast, First Coast, and Carolina Regional Champions, and, for the sixth time in the guard's eight year history, were named the Florida Federation of Colorguards Circuit Independent A Class Champion. For the fourth consecutive season, the Paradigm was also named a Field & Floor Top Colorguard, this year reaching the "Elite Eight."
Of particular pride for Paradigm's performers and staff was the awarding of the Kevin Paulas Sportsmanship trophy by the fellow guards of the Florida Federation of Colorguards Circuit.

Show Design: Ron Comfort, Barry Artis, Erick Bacon, Vincent Thomas
Music: "Rhiannon" and "Big Love" by Fleetwood Mac
Staff: Barry Artis, Vincent Thomas, Ron Comfort, Marcus Rankin, Erick Bacon, Doris Brown, Stacy Gallers, Erin Brown, Michelle Coit
Abandoning its jazz flavored shows of the previous four seasons, Paradigm presented "The Music of Fleetwood Mac" including Rhiannon and Big Love.
Making a successful transition to the Independent Open Class, Paradigm was named the 2003 WGI East Regional Champion and earned the Bronze Medal at the Winter Guard International World Championships as well as its sixth consecutive Florida Federation of Colorguards Circuit Championship. Once again a crowd favorite, Paradigm was again named a Field & Floor Top Colorguard, again reaching the "Elite Eight" status. Paradigm was also named a "Quintessential Color Guard" by the editors of Field & Floor! The season ended with Paradigm being promoted by Winter Guard International to the Independent World Class of performance!

Show Design: Ron Comfort, Erick Bacon
Show Title: "A Look Inside"
Staff: Barry Artis, Erick Bacon, Erin Brown, Ron Comfort, Chad Duggan, Jolie Henricks, Kurt Jull, Kimmy Keck, Marcus Rankin, Stephanie Rennell, Shelba Waldron

Paradigm's first year in the Independent World Class was marked by a drastic departure from previous programming and design with a look that set the stage for more than a small amount of controversy during the course of the season.
Starting the season slowly, the guard continued a constant improvement resulting in a finalist position at the WGI World Championships in San Diego, California.

Show Design: Ron Comfort, Erick Bacon
Music: "Typical Situation" by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds
Staff: Erick Bacon, Erin Brown, Ron Comfort, Jolie Henricks, Chris Jacobson, Kurt Jull, Kimmy Keck, Mike Marcantano, Ralph Vega, Shelba Waldron
2005 marked Paradigm's most successful season to date with second place finishes at the WGI Gainesville Regional and the Chesteron, Ind., Midwest Power Regional, and a WGI Regional Championship at the Mobile, Ala., South Power Regional. The guard regained the Florida Federation of Colorguards Circuit Championship title for a seventh time and placed seventh at the WGI World Championships.