10/11/2026
This is so incredible! A HUGE congratulations to Max Wash for taking 1st Place in Male Country at Talent Quest Internationals in Fort Worth, Texas!! He competed against other singers from all over the world!! I'm so in awe! Max competed in Talent Quest at the local level at Smarty's Saloon, taking 1st Place in the Grand Finals, moving on to Regionals. Then, Max competed at Talent Quest Regionals at River Rock Lanes and Banquet Center against 9 other singers in his same category from Cuculi's Bar, The GWINN INN, the Ojibwa Casino - Marquette and the Ojibwa Casino Resort - Baraga, and took 1st Place at that level. Next, we sent Max, along with Carl Leander Johnson II (also from Smarty's Saloon), Kaycee Jacobson and Amber Saint Antoine (both from The Gwinn Inn), James Caron (from Cuculi's Bar), as well as AC Pond (from Ojibwa Casino in Baraga), to compete at Talent Quest Internationals in Fort Worth, TX. Also, a big shoutout to Dave Piasini (from The Gwinn Inn), who took 2nd Place in his category at Regionals and paid his own way to Internationals. All of our singers represented the U.P. well!! Here's how they all fared:
Carl Johnson, Male Open, Top 20
Amber St. Antoine, Female Open, Top 20
Kaycee Jacobson, Female Country, Top 20
Dave Piasini, Male Open & Masters, Top 20
Jim Caron, Male Masters, Top 20, Top 10
Amy Pond, Female Masters, Top 20, Top 10
Max Wash, Country, Top 20, Top 10, Top 5, 1st Place
Thank you also to Theresa Rodaks and her husband, the owners of Cuculi's Bar, for traveling to Fort Worth to watch the contest and for being so supportive! I need to also thank Scott Soeltner and Brent Soeltner, owners of Smarty's Saloon; Paul Reynolds and Brenda Premeau Reynolds, owners of The Gwinn Inn; Garry Tollefson, Michelle Messer, and Roberta Lynn, who helped set up the contest at the Ojibwa Casinos; as well as Clay Sandberg, owner of River Rock Lanes & Banquet Center. And we can't forget Allan MacDonald, owner of Talent Quest, and everyone who works with him. Without all of you, we wouldn't have been able to make any of this happen or offer this amazing life experience to so many people. I'm truly grateful. 🥰🎶🎤❤️