Our Instructors
Mark
Mark is co-founder and President of 123 Drive! Driving Academy. He has been a resident of Hilton Head for over 30 years, is a former UPS driver and has been a Tennis Pro for over 25 years. He and Doreen have two kids, ages 28 and 30. In his spare time (hahahhaha) he enjoys playing tennis and golf.
Doreen
Doreen is co-founder and VP of 123 Drive! Driving Academy. She is also a Mortgage Broker with Lambuth Mortgage. Doreen is very involved with several local organizations such as Junior Leadership and the HH/Bluffton Chamber of Commerce.
Sharon
Sharon has lived in Bluffton for over 30 years and spent over 10 years with the Beaufort County Sheriff's Dept. She has three wonderful adult children. Sharon has been with us since 2011 and is also our office manager in our Bluffton office.
Howard
Howie retired after 26 years as a UPS driver. Not only was he a circle of honor recipient, he also was the Safety co- chairman and seminar instructor for new hires. He lives in Sun City and is married to his wife of 36 years, Marjie. They have two adult children residing in New York.
John
John and his wife Tammy moved to the area from Indiana where they owned and operated a very successful driving school for 10 years. John has a ton of experience working with new drivers and we are lucky to have him!
Tammy
Tammy sometimes teaches the Saturday class in Bluffton and through her experience, provides students with a wealth of knowledge. John and Tammy have two adult children and live in Hardeeville.
Karin
Karin is a registered nurse and has two daughters who attend Technical College of the Lowcountry. She is a wonderful classroom teacher and teaches the Saturday classes in Beaufort, Ridgeland and Bluffton.
Lisa
Lisa recently moved to the Bluffton area. She has adult children and some super cute grandchildren (even though she looks too young to be a Grandma!) and she loves to work with kids!
Rodolfo
Rodolfo has been licensed as a CDL instructor for several years and also teaches CDL classes at TCL. He is very experienced as an instructor and is also bilingual. Rodolfo has the patience of a saint!
Cesar
Cesar's background as a SC State Trooper makes him a huge asset to our team of instructors. He also has several years of experience as an instructor.
Bryan
Bryan lives on Hilton Head and has an awesome wife and two great kids, one in college and one in high school. He also runs his own business an audio/visual guru.
Teri
Teri is an instructor and our office manager in our Beaufort office and covers both Beaufort and Ridgeland. She is a mom to three great kids and enjoys working with teens and adults.
Mark S.
Mark retired in 2016 after 34 years in the Fire Service. He currently spends time developing future leaders and impacting the youth of today. He is married to his wife Karen and they spend time being ruled by their two dogs, Gracie and Jagger!
Tom
Tom retired as a Police Captain from NJ and has 33 years of experience in the law enforcement/ security profession. He is married to his wife Janine and they enjoy spending time with their 5 adult children and 4 grandchildren.
Lee
Lee comes to us after retiring from a decades long career as a teacher and coach. He recently moved to Hilton Head with his wife, Sue, who is also retired from a career in education. They have two wonderful, grown children and look forward to enjoying their new home on the island.
John E.
John has lived on Hilton Head since 2007 after moving here from Highlands Ranch, CO. He is a former teacher, principal and superintendent of schools. His last job was a DoD employee for the Marine Corp. working at Parris Island and MCAS Beaufort. In his spare time he enjoys traveling, reading, exercising and spending time with his wife, Christine. He teaches the classes on Saturdays in Hilton Head and Bluffton.
Robin
Originally from Massachusetts, Robin enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1979 and did 10 years of active service. Her second retirement was from SCDMV as a License Examiner for all classes of Driver Licenses. Robin then worked at First Step Driving Academy and has recently joined our 123 Drive family. She lives in Seabrook with her husband Pete.
Bill
Bill moved to Lady's Island in 2022 after retiring with 36 years with UPS in the Chicago area. He has many years of instructing UPS drivers to be safe on the road and we are lucky to have him! Bill is married and he and his wife have a daughter. He enjoys playing golf in his free time.
Artrell
Meet Artrell Aiken, a passionate and adventurous individual hailing from Winston Salem, NC, who now calls Beaufort, SC, home. As a student pilot in Beaufort, Artrell's skyward aspirations are soaring. Beyond the clouds, Artrell's love for people has taken them on journeys across the globe, making them a true world traveler. With an open heart and an adventurous spirit, Artrell embraces every new experience with enthusiasm and warmth.
All of our instructors have been state certified by SCDMV, are fully insured and have passed a national background check. And they are all awesome:-)
