It was the band The Who that sang, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss,” and those words rang true at the very nice ceremonial Monday morning meeting that took place on Monday, Dec. 2 – a meeting where commissioners were sworn in, the chair and vice chair of the board were selected, and where the Board of Commissioners took other procedural votes to get set for the coming year.

The Monday morning meetings are always the commissioners’ most peaceful get-togethers, with the room decorated, the commissioners wearing somewhat festive attire and with hot drinks and breakfast foods served out in the foyer after the brief ceremony.

Most everyone at the meeting hangs around to mingle and eat before getting back to doing the county’s work or returning to their private sector jobs.

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners held the roughly one-hour ceremony in the commissioners’ second-floor meeting room of the Old Guilford County Court House, which was nicely decorated with poinsettias and other Christmasy accents.

The Monday morning meeting is held every two years on the first Monday in December in order to usher in newly elected and reelected county officials and have them swear their oaths of office.

The audience at the well-attended event included community members, local officials and many family members of those being sworn in.

It marked the beginning of a new term for several commissioners and for Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen, who’s held that office for two decades now.

Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioner Skip Alston opened the meeting with a warm welcome, which was followed by an invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Guilford County Superior Court Judge Lora Cubbage administered the oath of office to Chairman Alston, who was reelected to his commissioners’ seat in November.

Superior Court Judge Stephanie Reese oversaw the oaths for Commissioners Carly Cooke and Mary Beth Murphy – both reelected this year – and for Brandon Gray-Hill, who was appointed to fill a vacant seat on the board and just won his first election as an incumbent.

Commissioner Gray-Hill thanked those who supported him and said he looked forward to continuing to serve the people of his district and Guilford County.

  “It is the honor of my life to be able to serve my community,” he said at the meeting.

Commissioner Cooke made some similar comments.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be selected to represent the community – and it is an awesome responsibility,” she said.

“I will continue to do the very best I can for all the people of Guilford County and especially those in District 5,” Cooke added.

Commissioner Murphy thanked a long list of people by name; however, Cooke just thanked “everyone on her team” in one fell swoop, adding that, if she listed people by name she knew she would accidently leave someone out.

Alston said at the meeting that “2025 will offer challenges – challenges to all of us,” but he added that resilience and determination would help everyone through it.  He also said that the new year will bring big opportunities as well and that, working together, he knew the county would be successful at things like promoting more affordable housing, increasing access to mental health care and county departments such as Emergency Services and social services.

“This work is not going to be easy, but it is essential,” the former and brand-new chairman said.

“We can face many obstacles by working together,” he added, stressing the ‘One Guilford” theme he has stressed for years.

Chief District Court Judge Teresa Vincent administered the oath of office to reelected Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen at the ceremony.

There are about three minutes each year when Guilford County Clerk to the Board Robin Keller gets to run the commissioners’ meeting. That’s when she gets to conduct the annual election of the board’s chair and vice chair. Chairman Alston was reelected as Chairman – this will be his tenth time leading the board  – on a unanimous vote.

Commissioner Carlvena Foster was re-elected as vice chair. Both expressed gratitude to their colleagues and pledged to serve the county with dedication in the coming year.

Thigpen, who was reelected as Guilford County Register of Deeds, administered the oath of office to his team of deputy and assistant registers (pictured above). Thigpen praised their efforts and he vowed to maintain high standards of service for Guilford County residents. He has been a trailblazer in the state when it comes to Register of Deeds offices. Over the years he has modernized the department, put many services online, created a searchable database of slave trade documents, implemented a program that helps veterans get discounts at local businesses and Thigpen has also brought passport services to the deeds office.

In addition to the swearing-in ceremonies, the commissioners took care of a little business for 2025. They reviewed and approved the annual bond report as mandated by North Carolina law – fixing bond amounts for the Sheriff, Register of Deeds, Tax Collector and Finance Director.

The bonds ensure accountability and compliance for key county leaders.

The commissioners also adopted the board’s 2025 regular meeting schedule, maintaining the tradition of meeting on the first and third Thursdays of each month with some exceptions for annual retreats and conferences.

The next regular meeting of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners – which will have an agenda packed with a lot of year-end business – is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 19, at 5:30 p.m. in the Commissioners Meeting Room in the Old Guilford County Court House at 301 W. Market St. in Greensboro.

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