| 1994 | Bill McCloud*, Appalachian State University |
| 1997 | George Scofield |
| 1998 | Jane Pfefferkorn, Winston Salem Forsyth County Schools |
| 1999 | Don Strickland, Columbus County Schools |
| 2002 | Mini Lou Raper |
| 2004 | Lydia Stewart, Cumberland County Schools |
| 2007 | Bob Buckner, Western Carolina University |
| 2008 | Carol Robbins, Raleigh |
| 2010 | Mary Archie McNeill, Raeford |
| 2011 | Sara McCall |
| 2013 | Beth McCullough, Chatham County Schools |
| 2017 | Gina Harrison, Community Volunteer, Chatham County |
| 2018 | Patrick Miller, Superintendent, Greene County Schools |
| 2019 | Earl Taylor, Onslow County Board of Education Member & Retired Arts Educator/Leader |
| 2021 | Barbara Geer, Retired Choral Teacher, NCMEA Conference Chair Pat Hall, Retired NCMEA Executive Director |
| 2022 | James Daugherty, Arts Education and Digital Learning Specialist, Davidson County Schools |
| 2023 | Jazzmone Sutton, State Advocacy Engagement Manager, NAfME |
* Deceased