Elected in 1998 at the age of 27, Jeff was the youngest County Commissioner in North Carolina and the youngest ever elected to the Guilford County Board of Commissioners.
In 2004, Jeff was elected Guilford County Register of Deeds after serving 6 years on the Board of Commissioners, becoming one of the youngest Register of Deeds in the state of North Carolina at age 33.
As a commissioner, Jeff focused on education, regional transportation, and fiscal responsibility. As Register of Deeds, he is focused on enhancing technology, improving the Department’s internal operations, and improving customer service. Transforming the office for the 21st century and building networks of support have been a priority as well.
Jeff has been instrumental in creating the NC Property Records Education Partners (PREP) through the Property Records Industry Association (PRIA). The goal of this effort is to organize, network, and educate each other outside of the “immediate issue (or iron in the fire) at the moment” that normally drives us together. Based on state legislative changes, establishment of E-Recording and E-Notary Councils, and the complex mosaic of lenders, vendors, title companies, and other sectors of the real estate industry—a PREP initiative for North Carolina makes sense.
As a first-generation college student, Jeff received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Guilford College in Political Science and Justice and Policy Studies in 1993. Jeff was catcher for the Quakers baseball team that set the school record for wins in 1993 and won two Old Dominion Athletic Conference championships in 1992 and 1993. Jeff was a 1994 graduate of the NC Institute for Political Leadership and later received his Master of Arts in Public Affairs from UNC-Greensboro in 1997 where he received the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award.
Born and raised just outside of Burgaw, NC, Jeff now resides in Greensboro with his wife Michelle, an elementary school principal, and their 4 yr old daughter, Elle, and son Aiden Thomas Thigpen, born July 23, 2007.