The "Wings Over Jordan Celebration Chorus" was formed in 1988 as a tribute act and continuation of the original choir. Music teacher and Gethsemane Baptist Church choir director Glenn T. Brackens founded the choir with assistance from Samuel Barber, an Ohio State University historian who researched and archived the original choir's history. Grandson of original Wings singer Persie Ford, Brackens grew up listening to stories about Ford's activities in the choir. Ford had an extensive collection of memorabilia of the original choir's activities and travels at her Cleveland home, but a photo scrapbook was misplaced by Brackens and is believed lost. The tribute chorus had its first public performance on June 11, 1988, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the national CBS debut of Wings Over Jordan, and was so well-received that additional singers were recruited. Wings Over Jordan Alumni and Friends (WOJAF) was established as an administrative body for the chorus and an alumni association open to surviving Wings members and members of the tribute chorus. Brackens has revived "That which is worthy must be preserved", Settle's motto for the original choir, as the chorus' slogan. Although church members and the WOJAF have expressed interest in a library devoted to the history of Wings Over Jordan since 1988, financial issues have been an obstacle.
