Chris is a Captain for Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department and the Pipe Major for JFRD Pipes and Drums and has been piping since 2012. He is also the Section Chair for Honor Guard and Pipes and Drums for the Florida Fire Chiefs Association. Chris took on the academy on 2019 and has been focused on its success since then. 

Principal Instructor Robert Wallace had great success as a solo competitor including winning the Gold Medals at Oban and Inverness, the Former Winners MSR at Oban, the Clasp at the Northern Meeting and a notable double in 1989 when he won both the Bratach Gorm (Blue Banner) and Gillies Cup in London. Another notable double came in 1997 when he won the Dunvegan Medal and Clasp on the same day at the Skye Gathering. As a band player he competed with the illustrious Muirhead & Sons under Pipe Major Robert Hardie. For 15 years he was the Editor of the Piping Times magazine and Principal of the College of Piping. Robert is currently editor of Piping Press web magazine and President of the Piobaireachd Society. He has produced many books including the Glasgow Collection of Bagpipe Music, Bagpipe Tutors Volumes 1 – 3, and The Bagpiper’s Handbook.

Barry is a retired police officer and founder member and of the Strathclyde Police Pipe Band formed in 1975. He won 11 Grade 1 World Pipe Band Championships with them, all under the renowned leadership of P/M Ian McLellan. Later, as Pipe Major, he successfully led the Strathclyde Fire Brigade PB, North Lanarkshire PB and City of Edinburgh PB, each winning Championships in Grades 2, 3 and 4. On retirement from the police in 2006, Barry returned to Grade 1 and performed with Shotts and Dykehead PB and became a senior instructor at the College of Piping. From the late 1970s to the early 90s he had successfully competed as a solo piper winning many major awards leading to a Premier grading by the Competing Pipers Association. Barry is a Senior Piping Adjudicator with the Solo Piping Judges Association and a pipe band adjudicator with the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association.

Matt comes from St. Louis, Missouri, where he teaches piping and is on the Midwest Pipe Band Association's judging panel.  He has been competing in Scotland for many years.  He recently won the Silver Medal at the 2023 Northern Meeting.  He won the Braemar Gold Medal for piobaireachd in 2019 and has featured in the prize list at Braemar and the Dunvegan Medal on Skye several times.  He has been an avid supporter of the Highland Games circuit in Scotland for many years.  Matt serves as president of the Scottish St. Andrew Society of Greater St. Louis and on the board for the St. Louis Scottish Games.

Bill Caudill, founder of the Scottish Heritage Center and pipe major at St. Andrews University, is one of the few Southern-born bagpipers of the 20th century to reach the professional level of playing and competition. Caudill has won the award for best Carolinas piper at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games on 28 occasions. Caudill serves president of the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association and is an adjudicator of bagpipe competitions throughout the country.

Stephen Creighton is the lead drummer of the St Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band from Dublin, Ireland. His honours to date as a solo drummer include the 1989 World Junior Championship, 30 World Adult Solo Finals, 5 Senior All Ireland Drumming Championships and 4 Ulster Senior Solo titles - and he was the United Kingdom Senior Solo Champion 2023. Stephen and his corps were crowned 2006, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019 World Grade 1 Drumming Champions. Currently Stephen's corps has 25 major titles across European, Scottish and British Championships. On a local level his drum corps has 13 Grade 1 All Ireland titles and counting. Stephen is currently the marching drum specialist at percussion company Premier Music International in the UK. Stephen is married to Amanda and has four children, Stephen Junior, Keith, Glen and Hannah. 

Simon is from Northern Ireland and began playing snare drum aged 10. Later he was introduced to a pair of tenor sticks and they've been his passion ever since. He joined St Laurence O'Toole Pipe Band in 2013 after a two-year stint with NI band Seven Towers and, previous to that, played snare, tenor then bass in Banbridge Pipe Band. He feels fortunate to play under his drumming idol Stephen Creighton. He has won over 20 RSPBA & IPBA major titles including four World Drumming Championships and three Champion of Champion titles. In NI & Ireland he has coordinated and instructed several bass sections and solo players and feels blessed to have the opportunity to work with so many great students at the Florida Academy. 

Steve has been involved with pipe band drumming and drum majoring for more than 40 years. He learned his Drum Major skill from the late Neil Lester, of Windsor, Ontario, when they were both in the City of Detroit, Grade 2 band in the ‘90s. During his time with the Grade I Toronto Police band he served as their drum major at select events. He competed at Open/Professional drum major contests in Ontario and the US for several years before being invited to join the adjudicator’s panel 18 years ago. He now judges regularly throughout the southeastern US. He has also served as Senior Drum Major (leading the other drum majors and massed bands) at several Scottish festivals in Florida, the Carolinas and Georgia. Steve is currently D/M of the Grandfather Mountain Highlanders in North Carolina.

Jon was one of only a few southern-born pipers in the 20th century to reach Grade. He won numerous EUSPBA contests in the '70s and '80s in light music and piobaireachd. Jon was the overall EUSPBA Grade 2 Champion in 1979 and in Grade 1 the following year and runner-up several years after. Highlights include the MacCrimmon Quaich at Virginia, the Grandfather Mountain G1 Piobaireachd (five times, consecutively), and Best Grade 1 Piper at Stone Mountain. He served as an instructor at the North American Academy of Piping and Drumming with the late Sandy Jones and Ed Neigh. Jon currently teaches several competitors including two top G1 competitors. He is a retired public-school teacher and works now as an insurance office manager in East Tennessee.