Board of Directors

A native Scot born and raised in Bearsden, approximately ten miles from Glasgow city centre, Peter Wilson has been living in the USA for several decades. He is a graduate of St Andrews University, Scotland and studied at Clemson University in the late 70’s where he met his wife, Suzanne, at a British styled pub in nearby Pendleton. After 14 years in Scotland where he worked in an engineering business, they returned to Charlotte NC. He started an online business in 1997 selling imported Scottish victuals and also got into tartan rag trade. Peter has served as board member of Scottish Heritage USA since 2006 and is the current President and Interim Treasurer.

Mary Ann Masters is from Lumberton, North Carolina, an area that was heavily populated with Scottish immigrants. She’s a descendant of Highland Scots on her mother’s side of the family and Ulster Scots on her father’s side. Her husband John D. Masters, whose ancestors were Lowland Scots, along with their sons Harrison and Ross, are members of the St. Andrews Society of North Carolina.

Mary Ann is winding down from a busy career as a doctor of optometry. She was the founding chairperson of Exploration Station, an early childhood learning center. Mary Ann attends First Presbyterian Church (founded by members of Scottish descent), sings in the choir, has served as Deacon Moderator, and is currently an Elder. She served many years as the president of the Robeson County Arts Council and remains on the board as treasurer. She is currently on the Board of Managers and Treasurer of the National Society of the Colonial Dames in North Carolina. She also serves on the board of the Robeson County Department of Public Health and as Board Secretary of Scottish Heritage USA.

Pat Apperson has been a Scottish Heritage USA Board member since April 2022 and is currently the Investment Committee Chair and serves on the Nominating Committee. In 1986, Pat was the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games Postgraduate Scholarship recipient, earned his MBA at the University of Edinburgh, and has since been a member of Scottish Heritage USA and a patron of the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. He has been a member of the Saint Andrews Society of Upper South Carolina since 1988, a life-patron of the Greenville Scottish Games, and was educated in piping at the North American Academy of Piping and Drumming as well as a member of the City of Greenville Pipes and Drums.

Bill Caudill is a North Carolina native and descended from both Highland and Ulster-Scots who settled in the Carolinas. He has been involved in the Scottish-American community since his youth, initially with his pursuit of the Scottish bagpipes. He rose through the competitive ranks to become one of the top Professional class players in the Eastern USA before retiring from competition. He currently serves as President of the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association and is also an active member of their judges’ panel, adjudicating contests throughout the USA. Professionally he is resident historian and folklorist at the Scottish Heritage Center at St. Andrews University in Laurinburg, North Carolina (which he founded in 1989) and has lectured and given presentations on Scots in the Carolinas as well as the greater Southeast at academic institutions from the University of Glasgow in Scotland to UNC Chapel Hill among others as well as to scores of private historical and genealogical groups. He resides in Laurinburg, North Carolina with his wife Anne McLean Caudill, also a Highland descendant, and son Daniel MacQueen Caudill who is also a prize-winning piper and rising senior at UNC Chapel Hill.

Lord Dunrossil was born in London and educated at Eton and Oxford. He retired from Consumer Finance Industry (former chairman, American Financial Services Association). Lord Dunrossil serves as Honorary British Consul, San Antonio. He is the former Chairman, Society of Scottish Armigers, and currently serves as Vice Chairman, Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs. Lord Dunrossil is on the Advisory Board, Council of Scottish Clans and Associations, an Hon. Patron of the American-Scottish Foundation, and a Board Director with Scottish Heritage USA. He is the National Tartan Day Award recipient from the Scottish Coalition USA, 2024.

Bruce Hamilton lives in Boston, Massachusetts with his wife Rosemary. For the past forty years, he has been a Professional Photographer and Educator. Bruce retired as Media Center Director and Senior Lecturer at Northeastern University’s College of Arts, Media, and Design. He currently serves as a Director and Chair of the Corporate Membership Committee for Scottish Heritage USA.

Betty Johnson is a native of Texas and graduated from the University of Houston, majoring in English. Her work experience spans industries from broadcast media to the automotive aftermarket. She is the former Director of Advertising at NAPA Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Her last position was Managing Director of a Georgia-based boutique advisory firm specializing in revenue generation, supply chain management, and management processes. She retired in 2014.

In 2015, she launched a new concept for the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games called the “Scottish Cultural Village” which promoted education and interest in Scottish culture and lore. This event is the first of its kind in the United States and has grown exponentially every year since its inception. She is responsible for its naming, branding, programming, as well as the overall format and guidelines of the three-day event. Scottish Heritage USA sponsors this event annually. Since its inception, virtually every program is “standing room only.”

An avid weaver, Betty was instrumental in the design, promotion, and production of the City of Dahlonega Tartan in 2009. She supplies hand-woven products to the John C. Campbell Craft Store and The Crown and Bear British Shop in Dahlonega, Georgia. She is a member of the Chestatee Artists Guild, the Dahlonega Arts Alliance, Scottish Heritage USA, and the Knights Templar. Betty has edited three successful books in the last five years and does freelance editing when called upon. She is the Scholarship Committee Chair on the Scottish Heritage USA Board of Directors.

Betty lives with her husband Sam and two Siberian Huskies in the Blue Ridge Mountains town of Dahlonega, Georgia.

Norman Livermore was born of a Scottish mother and Midwest farmer father. He has lived his whole life following his Scottish connection. Norman is the Founder and former Pipe Major of the Atlanta Pipe Band, founding committee member of Stone Mountain Highland Games serving as President for the past twelve years, as well as Director of Piping for twenty-five years beforehand.

Craig was born and raised in East Tennessee with Scottish and Irish ancestry on both sides of the family. He currently resides in Louisville, Kentucky with his wife Jane. Craig is a lifelong student of the Scottish diaspora and related history, culture, music, immigration, and the impact of Scots on the major events in world history. He competed in highland dancing and the great highland bagpipe and was a founding member of the Grandfather Mountain Highlanders pipe band. He received his business education from the University of Edinburgh (MBA) and the University of Tennessee (BSc). He has retired from Sales Leadership in the Healthcare software & technology industry.

Born in Kingsport, TN, Stephen Quillin retired as VP of Engineering from S&B Engineers and Constructors of Houston, TX. Stephen served three terms as President of the Clan MacLaren Society before election to the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games Board of Trustees. He began service as GMHG President in 2019. He’s the Games and Sponsorship Committee Chair on the Scottish Heritage USA Board of Directors. Mr. Quillin is married with three children and two grandchildren.