Jeff Webster (checkers player)

Jeff Webster
Webster in 2013
Chair of the Rockingham County Democratic Party
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2024
Personal details
Born	1966 (age 58–59)
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Annie Herger Manning (m. 2008)
Children	2
Parent(s)	James Jefferson Webster II Mary Elizabeth Comer
Relatives	J.J. Webster (grandfather) John Ray Webster (uncle) Beth Mitchell (cousin)
Education	Stoneville High School
Occupation	checkers player musician postmaster

James Jefferson "Jeff" Webster III (born 1966) is an American competitive checkers player and Democratic official. He was the National Youth Checkers Champion in 1981 and the World Youth Checkers Champion in 1982. In January 2024, Webster was appointed as Chair of the Democratic Party of Rockingham County, North Carolina.

Early life and family

Jeff Webster was born in 1966[1] to James Jefferson Webster II, a business owner, and Mary Elizabeth Comer Webster, who served as Vice Chair of the Rockingham County Democratic Party.[2] He grew up in Stoneville, North Carolina and graduated from Stoneville High School in 1983.[3][4] He is a grandson of James Jefferson Webster, who served as county commissioner of Rockingham County.[5][2] Through his paternal grandmother, Nannie Hurt Strong, he is descended from Scottish emigrants George Irving and Jane McDonald, who came to the United States in 1834 from Closeburn, Dumfriesshire aboard the Hector, and is a descendant of the Colonial Virginian Robertson family.[6][7] Webster is the nephew of checkers champion John Ray Webster and a distant cousin of mathematician Ione Grogan.[8][7]

Career

Webster served as the postmaster of Stoneville for thirty four years.[9]

In January 2024, Webster was appointed as the Chair of the Rockingham County Democratic Party.[10][11]

Checkers

Webster began playing checkers at his grandfather's general store when he was 14 years old, being taught largely by his uncle.[2] He won the United States youth national checkers championship in Texas in 1980.[1] On December 31, 1981 he competed in the World Youth Checkers Championship in Bristol, England.[12][3] He defeated Andrew Knapp, the English national champion, and became the first person to win the title of World Youth Checkers Champion.[8][12][1]

In 2015 he placed second in the Tennessee State Open Majors Division in Lebanon, Tennessee.[13] In 2019 Webster was ranked 47th in the nation and 103rd in the world.[14]

Music

Webster began playing piano when he was 14 years old. He was formerly a member of the bands Outta Time and Disaster Recovery Band.[15][16] He was also the keyboardist for The Impacts, a rock and beach music band based in Madison, North Carolina.[15][17]

Webster served as a member of the 2019–2020 Advisory Grassroots Panel for the Rockingham County Arts Council.[18]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Webster's bands disbanded.[9] He began performing online weekly on Thursday nights using Facebook's live streaming feature, later calling the series "Jeff's Jammie Jams", a moniker inspired from his wearing pajamas while performing on the live stream.[9]

Webster (third to the left from the sign) at the dedication ceremony of J.J. Webster Highway in 1998

Personal life

On March 20, 1998, Webster was working at the Rockingham County Post Office in Stoneville when the 1998 Gainesville–Stoneville tornado outbreak hit.[19] His cousin, Beth Webster Mitchell, was killed in the tornado.

Webster married Annie Herger Manning in 2008. In 2009 he underwent a quadruple bypass at Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital.[20]

References

1. Brinson, Linda (January 4, 1982). "Checkers Whiz: Looking for the Champ? See Him in Shiloh, N.C.". The Sentinel.
2. Johnson, Maria C. (December 17, 1994). "PROGRESS FORCES STORE OFF BEATEN PATH". News & Record. Greensboro, North Carolina: Daniel P. Finnegan. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
3. "Jeff Webster is an old hand at being crowned..." United Press International. News World Communications. December 24, 1981. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
4. Slepp, Cori (January 26, 2011). "Checkers tournament draws champs". News & Record. Greensboro, North Carolina: Daniel P. Finnegan. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
5. King, Nancy Webster (1983). "James Jefferson Webster". The Heritage of Rockingham County, North Carolina, 1983. Winston-Salem, North Carolina: Rockingham County Historical Society in cooperation with Hunter Publishing Company. p. 676. ISBN 0-89459-212-2.
6. King, Nancy Webster (1983). "George Irving – Jane McDonald". The Heritage of Rockingham County, North Carolina, 1983. Winston-Salem, North Carolina: Rockingham County Historical Society in cooperation with Hunter Publishing Company. pp. 314, 315, 316. ISBN 0-89459-212-2.
7. Anderson, Francis I. (1980). Anderson & Irving of Rockingham County, N.C. Cox & Bryan of Onslow County, N.C. and Related Families. Wendell, North Carolina: Avera Press. p. 36.
8. Reynolds, Jane (January 14, 1996). "CHECKERS CHAMP SEEKS CHALLENGE". News & Record. Greensboro, North Carolina: Daniel P. Finnegan. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
9. Spear, Susie C. (May 16, 2023). "Music Man: Jeff's Jammie Jams draws hundreds to Webster's weekly FB broadcast". News & Record. Greensboro, North Carolina. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
10. "County Party Officers 2023 – 2025". Rockingham County NC Democratic Party. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
11. https://www.rockinghamcountync.gov/files/documents/Brochure-ElectionObserversandRunners1390102421060524AM.pdf
12. "TIME LINE 1980'S". Online Museum of Checkers History. Online Museum of Checkers History. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
13. "2015 Tennessee State Open". NC Checkers. North Carolina Checker Association. March 8, 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
14. "Player Profile Jeff Webster". USA Checkers. The American Checker Federation. September 20, 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
15. "2019– 2020 Advisory Grassroots Panel". RC Arts Council. Rockingham County Arts Council. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
16. "Disaster Recovery Band at Southern Spirits". Bandsintown. Bandsintown. September 22, 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
17. "Piano Lessons". Madison-Mayodan Recreation Commission. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
18. "We are pleased to introduce the 2019– 2010 Advisory Grassroots Panel". RC Arts Council. Rockingham County Arts Council. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
19. Crews, Daniel (March 19, 2023). "The Stoneville Tornado: Remembering Rockingham County's strongest tornado, 25 years later". WFMY-TV. Stoneville, North Carolina. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
20. "Jeff Webster hospitalized for quadruple bypass". NC Checkers. North Carolina Checker Association. September 3, 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2020.