Jeff Webster (checkers player)
{{short description|American checkers player, musician, and political official}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Jeff Webster
|image = Jeffwebster2013.jpg
|image_size =
|caption = Webster in 2013
|office = Chair of the Rockingham County Democratic Party
|term_start = January 2024
|term_end =
|birth_date = {{bya|1966}}
|birth_place =
|death_date =
|death_place =
|signature =
|party = Democratic
|spouse = Annie Herger Manning (m. 2008)
|children = 2
|parents = 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{{cite news| last = Brinson| first = Linda| author-link= Linda Carter Brinson| title = Checkers Whiz: Looking for the Champ? See Him in Shiloh, N.C.| newspaper = The Sentinel| date = January 4, 1982}} to James Jefferson Webster II, a business owner, and Mary Elizabeth Comer Webster, who served as Vice Chair of the Rockingham County Democratic Party. He grew up in Stoneville, North Carolina and graduated from Stoneville High School in 1983.{{cite news| title = Jeff Webster is an old hand at being crowned...| newspaper = United Press International| publisher = News World Communications| date = December 24, 1981| url = https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/12/24/Jeff-Webster-is-an-old-hand-at-being-crowned/7411378018000/| access-date = 4 April 2020}}{{cite news| last = Slepp| first = Cori| title = Checkers tournament draws champs| newspaper = News & Record| location = Greensboro, North Carolina| publisher = Daniel P. Finnegan| date = January 26, 2011| url = https://www.greensboro.com/life/community_news/checkers-tournament-draws-champs/article_6119eb37-37aa-53a2-bb70-56947f0f7976.html| access-date = 4 April 2020}} He is a grandson of James Jefferson Webster, who served as county commissioner of Rockingham County.{{cite encyclopedia| last= King| first= Nancy Webster| title = James Jefferson Webster| encyclopedia = The Heritage of Rockingham County, North Carolina, 1983| date = 1983| publisher = Rockingham County Historical Society in cooperation with Hunter Publishing Company| location = Winston-Salem, North Carolina|page=676| isbn = 0-89459-212-2}} 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.{{cite encyclopedia| last= King| first= Nancy Webster| title = George Irving – Jane McDonald| encyclopedia = The Heritage of Rockingham County, North Carolina, 1983| date = 1983 | publisher = Rockingham County Historical Society in cooperation with Hunter Publishing Company| location = Winston-Salem, North Carolina| pages=314, 315, 316| isbn = 0-89459-212-2}}{{cite book| last = Anderson| first = Francis I.| title = Anderson & Irving of Rockingham County, N.C. Cox & Bryan of Onslow County, N.C. and Related Families| publisher = Avera Press| date = 1980| location = Wendell, North Carolina| pages = 36}} Webster is the nephew of checkers champion John Ray Webster and a distant cousin of mathematician Ione Grogan.{{cite news| last = Reynolds| first = Jane| title = CHECKERS CHAMP SEEKS CHALLENGE| newspaper = News & Record| location = Greensboro, North Carolina| publisher = Daniel P. Finnegan| date = January 14, 1996| url = https://www.greensboro.com/checkers-champ-seeks-challenge/article_d6c146dc-0e32-52a6-902c-6243deb2afa3.html| access-date = 4 April 2020}}
Career
Webster served as the postmaster of Stoneville for thirty four years.{{cite news |last= Spear|first= Susie C.|date= May 16, 2023|title= Music Man: Jeff's Jammie Jams draws hundreds to Webster's weekly FB broadcast|url= https://greensboro.com/community/rockingham_now/news/music-man-jeffs-jammie-jams-draws-hundreds-to-websters-weekly-fb-broadcast/article_b6b95b6c-f402-11ed-814f-cfeea8be85a4.html|work= News & Record|location= Greensboro, North Carolina|access-date= May 25, 2023}}
In January 2024, Webster was appointed as the Chair of the Rockingham County Democratic Party.{{cite web| url = https://www.rockncdems.org/leadership.html| title = County Party Officers 2023 – 2025| website = Rockingham County NC Democratic Party| access-date = April 5, 2024}}https://www.rockinghamcountync.gov/files/documents/Brochure-ElectionObserversandRunners1390102421060524AM.pdf
= Checkers =
Webster began playing checkers at his grandfather's general store when he was 14 years old, being taught largely by his uncle.{{cite news| last = Johnson| first = Maria C.| title = PROGRESS FORCES STORE OFF BEATEN PATH| newspaper = News & Record| location = Greensboro, North Carolina| publisher = Daniel P. Finnegan| date = December 17, 1994| url = https://www.greensboro.com/progress-forces-store-off-beaten-path/article_bc83aa42-e505-5968-816b-2f19349bb2b2.html| access-date = 4 April 2020}} He won the United States youth national checkers championship in Texas in 1980. On December 31, 1981 he competed in the World Youth Checkers Championship in Bristol, England.{{cite web| url = http://www.online-museum-of-checkers-history.com/id20.html| title = TIME LINE 1980'S| website = Online Museum of Checkers History| publisher = Online Museum of Checkers History| access-date = 4 April 2020| archive-date = 28 March 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200328185416/http://www.online-museum-of-checkers-history.com/id20.html| url-status = dead}} He defeated Andrew Knapp, the English national champion, and became the first person to win the title of World Youth Checkers Champion.
In 2015 he placed second in the Tennessee State Open Majors Division in Lebanon, Tennessee.{{cite web| url = http://www.nccheckers.org/NCCA/2015%20TN%20Open%20Results.htm| title = 2015 Tennessee State Open| date = March 8, 2015| website = NC Checkers | publisher = North Carolina Checker Association| access-date = 4 April 2020}} In 2019 Webster was ranked 47th in the nation and 103rd in the world.{{cite web| url = https://www.usacheckers.com/ratings/player.php?playerid=10218| title = Player Profile Jeff Webster| date = September 20, 2019| website = USA Checkers| publisher = The American Checker Federation| access-date = 4 April 2020}}
= 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.{{cite web| url = http://www.rcarts.org/grassroots-panel.html| title = 2019– 2020 Advisory Grassroots Panel| website = RC Arts Council| publisher = Rockingham County Arts Council| access-date = 4 April 2020}}{{cite web| url = https://www.bandsintown.com/en/e/19451356-disaster-recovery-band-at-southern-spirits?came_from=251| title = Disaster Recovery Band at Southern Spirits| date = September 22, 2017| website = Bandsintown| publisher = Bandsintown| access-date = 4 April 2020}} He was also the keyboardist for The Impacts, a rock and beach music band based in Madison, North Carolina.{{cite web| url = http://m-mrec.org/event-pro/piano-lessons/| title = Piano Lessons| website = Madison-Mayodan Recreation Commission| access-date = 4 April 2020}}
Webster served as a member of the 2019–2020 Advisory Grassroots Panel for the Rockingham County Arts Council.{{cite web| url = http://www.rcarts.org/grassroots-grant-program.html| title = We are pleased to introduce the 2019– 2010 Advisory Grassroots Panel| website = RC Arts Council| publisher = Rockingham County Arts Council| access-date = 4 April 2020}}
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Webster's bands disbanded. 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.
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.{{cite news |last= Crews|first= Daniel|date= March 19, 2023|title= The Stoneville Tornado: Remembering Rockingham County's strongest tornado, 25 years later|url= https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/local/the-stoneville-tornado-remembering-rockingham-countys-strongest-tornado-25-years-later-madison-north-carolina/83-809a23fa-febb-4b63-b1d7-1503727ce4e0#_=_|work= WFMY-TV|location= Stoneville, North Carolina|access-date= March 20, 2023}} 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.{{cite web| url = http://www.nccheckers.org/NCCA/8-26-09%20Jeff%20Webster.htm| title = Jeff Webster hospitalized for quadruple bypass | date = September 3, 2009| website = NC Checkers| publisher = North Carolina Checker Association| access-date = 4 April 2020}}
References
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Category:American checkers players
Category:American people of Scottish descent
Category:American United Methodists
Category:Musicians from North Carolina
Category:People from Rockingham County, North Carolina
Category:Players of English draughts
Category:North Carolina Democrats