Renowned landscape and garden designer Jon Carloftis has spent more than three decades crafting wondrous natural escapes, from sprawling horse farms in his native Bluegrass State to rooftop terraces in New York City. Along the way, the award-winning Carloftis has fashioned gardens for such bold-faced clients as the actor Julianne Moore and the Kentucky governor’s mansion, as well as published multiple books including, most recently, Jon Carloftis Fine Gardens. Follow him on Instagram @joncarloftisfinegardens.

In 2017, Mia Hall became the executive director of the beloved Penland School of Craft, an almost-century-old North Carolina institute dedicated to educating and fostering artists. Prior to that, Hall served as the art and design department chair at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where she held a faculty position for ten years. Her own school years were spent earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree in furniture design from San Diego State University, and her personal furniture work and mixed-media sculptures have been featured in exhibitions across the country. Follow her on Instagram @miapetrahall.

In addition to picking up six finalist nods from the James Beard Awards for Best Chef: Southeast, Edward Lee has also won two of the foundation’s honors: one in 2019, for writing his memoir/travelogue Buttermilk Graffiti, and one in 2024 to his LEE Initiative—a nonprofit dedicated to diversity and equality in the restaurant industry—for Humanitarian of the Year. He is currently the chef-owner of 610 Magnolia in Louisville and SHIA in Washington, D.C., where he also serves as the culinary director of the city’s Succotash restaurants. His other best-selling books include Smoke & Pickles and Bourbon Land. Follow him on Instagram @chefedwardlee. 

Now in his sixteenth year as a Made in the South Awards judge, the North Carolina–based sportsman and Garden & Gun contributing editor T. Edward Nickens continues to crisscross the South to tell the sporting and conservation stories that matter. The award-winning journalist has also authored several outdoor guidebooks, including The New York Times best-selling The Total Outdoorsman Manual, and The Last Wild Road, which recounts his personal stories of life in the wilds. Follow him on Instagram @enickens.

Before launching her eponymous clothing line in Manhattan with just eight pieces, Hunter Bell studied fashion design at the University of Alabama and Parsons in New York. Since its inception in 2006, the brand has expanded to retailers countrywide, and Bell’s colorful prints, specialized textiles, and whimsical details that elevate everyday style have been spotted on such A-listers as Taylor Swift and Kelly Clarkson. Follow her on Instagram @hunterbellnyc. 

Though he opened D.C.’s Jack Rose Dining Saloon, one of the country’s leading whiskey destinations with one of the world’s largest collections, in 2011, Bill Thomas has been in the whiskey and bar business for almost thirty years. In that time, he has amassed his own private collection of more than eight thousand bottles, and he regularly appears on judging panels, in whiskey documentaries, and at nationwide tastings. Follow him on Instagram @mashbill_thomas.