Meet the Directors & Designers
Melissa Gaul
Director
Melissa Gaul resides in Raleigh, North Carolina. Originally from Oxford, NC, she attended South Granville HS and East Carolina University. She has over 20 years of experience in the marching arts as a performer, director, and educator. Melissa has worked with many guard programs in the state of North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia including First Flight World, Carolina Visual Productions, Origins Open, Green Hope HS, Panther Creek HS, Enloe HS, South Granville HS, South Johnston HS, North Johnston HS, Parkview HS and has most recently volunteered as a consultant for Holly Springs HS and Corinth Holders HS.
Melissa was a member of First Flight winter guard in 2002 & 2003. She has been a staff member and assistant director with First Flight World since 2018 and most recently served as the Color Guard director at Green Hope HS from 2009-2020. During her 11 years with Green Hope, Melissa led the color guard and winter guard programs to success both locally and nationally in AIA, WGI, and BOA as consistent BOA/WGI regional finalists, WGI SA semi-finalists (2009-2011,2013-2018), WGI SA finalists (2016-2018) placing 4th in 2018, WGI SO semi-finalist (2019), and BOA Grand National semi-finalists (2015-2016).
Jenny Durko
Director
Jenny Durko is originally from Dayton, Ohio, and has been involved in the marching arts in various capacities for the past 24 years. She marched as a color guard member at Carroll High School, the Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps, Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps, and various independent winter guards including Escapade, Adagio, and The Company.
She’s since served as a technician for many programs across the country, including Colerain HS, Centerville HS, Seminole HS, Carroll HS, Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps, Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps, Kettering Fairmont HS, Clayton HS, and First Flight Winter Guard.
Jenny lives in Smithfield, NC with her two sons, Hayden and Jonah, and works full-time as the principal at River Dell Elementary in Clayton, NC.
Now based in Cary, North Carolina, David is a native of Morehead City and a graduate of West Carteret High School, where his passion for color guard and the performing arts began along North Carolina’s beautiful Crystal Coast. He went on to earn a B.A. in Political Science from UNC Greensboro and a Master of Public Administration from NC State University. David brings decades of experience in the marching arts as a performer, instructor, choreographer, designer, and director. His work has helped develop performers and programs earning recognition at the local, regional, and national levels. He began performing with the West Carteret Marching Patriots Color Guard and WCHS Winterguard before joining independent programs including Assembly Line Winterguard, First Flight, The Study, and Croatan World. Since transitioning from performer to educator, David has worked with programs throughout North Carolina and Virginia, serving in instructional and leadership roles with First Flight, Croatan Independent, NC State Winterguard, Clayton High School, Cary High School, Broughton High School, George Washington High School (VA), Bonner Middle School (VA), Havelock High School, West Carteret High School, East Carteret High School, Croatan High School, and Broad Creek Middle School.
David has also served on the instructional staff for the Fred J. Miller Summer Clinics, providing performers across the eastern United States with a professional, high-quality educational experience. David’s connection to First Flight spans nearly three decades. After performing with the 1999, 2000, and 2002 casts, he joined the instructional staff in 2006. It was during the 1999 season that he met Kim, a fellow cast member who would later become the love of his life and his wife. David later served as assistant director of First Flight World and director of First Flight’s Independent A Class ensemble in 2014. After stepping away from the activity to focus on family, David was thrilled to return to First Flight’s instructional staff in 2024 and rejoin its leadership team ahead of the 2027 performance season. Across every role, David is most passionate about creating environments where performers can grow—not only as artists and athletes, but as confident, creative, and resilient young people.
Daniel Adams
Director
Daniel is a North Carolina native, growing up in the small rural community of pine level. He went to North Johnston High School, where he was involved in marching band, winter guard and FFA. Daniel continued in the winter guard activity after high school by marching with First Flight winter guard from 2014-2019, and marched DCI with the Madison Scouts from 2015-2016.
Daniel has coached color guard and winter guard programs since 2014 and has been involved in programs such as Holly Springs HS, Wakefield HS, Green Hope HS, and Panther Creek HS. Outside of guard, Daniel went to North Carolina State University and obtained his Ph.D. in Comparative Biomedical Sciences, with a focus in agriculture and livestock diseases. When not working or teaching color guard, Daniel enjoys riding horses and spending time with his family.
Tyler Garcia is a program designer, choreographer, and the Artistic Director of First Flight Winter Guard. His work is inspired by transforming deeply human experiences into relatable storytelling, combining his love of nostalgia, advertising, and the unexpected to create productions that feel both familiar and original.
In 2026, during Tyler’s tenure as Artistic Director, First Flight earned the first WGI Independent Open Class World Championship title in the organization’s history. His design and choreography credits also include Holly Springs High School, Bellbrook High School, Dobyns-Bennett High School, and several other WGI finalist programs.
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Tyler was a member of the design and choreographic team behind Dobyns-Bennett High School’s 2023 WGI Scholastic A Class World Championship production. From 2022 through 2025, he worked with the Bellbrook High School Color Guard, contributing to a competitive journey that included a WGI Scholastic Open Class finals appearance, promotion into Scholastic World Class, and two consecutive WGI Scholastic World Class finals appearances.
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His performance experience includes Aria Winter Guard, First Flight Winter Guard, Étude Winter Guard, and the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps. Having experienced the activity as both a performer and designer, Tyler is passionate about creating productions that challenge and celebrate performers while giving audiences something meaningful to remember.
Originally from Fayetteville, North Carolina, Tyler now lives in Black Rock, Connecticut, where he works at Bridgewater Associates and resides with his fiancé, Jason, and their four-legged daughter, Gigi. Outside the activity, he enjoys spending time with friends, broadway shows, and taking photos of cocktails.
Byron K. Valentine is a native of Greenville, South Carolina, who studied education and design before relocating to Dayton, Ohio, where he now serves as Lead Stretch Wear Designer for Fred J. Miller, Inc. (FJM), a national supplier of marching band and colorguard uniforms and costumes.
With more than 30 years of experience in the pageantry arts, Byron specializes in costume design, program design, and visual development for marching band and winter guard. His work is especially recognized for its focus on the human condition, creating productions that are thoughtful, emotionally meaningful, and unapologetically theatrical.
His design and choreography credits include Centerville HS, Bellbrook HS, Miamisburg HS, Foster HS, Germantown HS, Bluecoats, Colts, Carolina Crown, Allegoria Winter Guard, Homage Winter Guard, Artistry in Blue, Juxtaposition Winter Guard, and Lexis Winter Guard, among many others. He has also served as a guest clinician and performance coach for the United States Twirling Association, mentoring members of the U.S. National Team in preparation for their Olympic performance in Paris, France.
As Executive Director and Artistic Director of Zydeco Colorguard, Byron helped guide the ensemble to multiple WGI World Championship finals, two World Championship medals, and a World Class Fan Favorite Award.
Now entering his tenth season as Artistic Director of Étude Winter Guard, Byron also serves as Artistic Director for the Dobyns-Bennett High School and Mason High School Winter Guard programs. He previously taught in the FJM Summer Clinic Program, including five years as Colorguard Coordinator, and was recently a featured presenter at the Bands of America Color Guard Instructor Academy. In addition, Byron is an accomplished equipment, movement, and general effect adjudicator for regional and national circuits.
His performing experience includes Infiniti Winterguard (SC), Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps, Crown Guard, and the Pride of Cincinnati. Outside the pageantry arts, Byron enjoys home renovation projects, spending time with fellow artists and friends, and has never met a dog he didn't want to befriend.
Luke Oglesby
Director
Luke Oglesby grew up in Eastern North Carolina where he attended Croatan High School and East Carolina University. Luke received his bachelor's degree in Elementary Education. Luke worked as an educator for 4 years before going back to East Carolina to receive his master's in school administration in 2019. He worked as an educator for three more years in Johnston County.
Luke’s performance experience includes Croatan World (2007-2009), First Flight Winterguard (2010-2014,2016-2020), and Pride of Cincinnati (2021). His teaching experience includes Northern Nash High School, East Carolina University Marching Pirates Colorguard, ECU Winterguard, Wakefield High School, Holly Springs High School, Corinth Holders High School, First Flight World, Carolina Crown and the Cavaliers.