Chairman Randy Thompson

Randy Thompson is a North Carolina native and a resident of Ocean Isle Beach. Commissioner Thompson currently serves as the Chairman of the Brunswick County Commissioners. Randy served as Vice Chairman from 2016 through 2020. Randy currently sits on the Board of Brunswick Business & Industry Development, the Brunswick/Columbus Industrial Park Executive Committee and the Grand Strand MPO Transportation Advisory Committee. After serving more than 30 years in local government, he started a small business and is the Chief Executive Officer of Thompson Disaster Recovery Associates, Inc., providing consulting services to local, state and federal agencies across the country. Randy holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration from Shaw University.  

Randy and his wife, Sharon, have been married 41 years and have two children. They are members of Seaside United Methodist Church located in Sunset Beach. He is a member of South Brunswick Islands Rotary Club and a past president of the club. He is an active member of the Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce. He is also a past board chairman of Brunswick County Communities in Schools. Randy is a recipient of the State’s highest civilian award for service, The Order of the Long Leaf Pine.

At the State level, Randy has served as a member of the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) for the past four years and as well as, serving this past year as Co-Chair of the NCACC Presidential Initiative “100 Counties Prepared.” In 2020, he was also reappointed to a second three-year term on the North Carolina Fire and Rescue Commission. Randy is a past president of the North Carolina Emergency Management Association and a past commissioner on the State of North Carolina Emergency Response Commission. He served on the State Legislative Joint Study Committee on Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Management Recovery and also served as the chairperson of North Carolina’s first Interoperability Executive Committee.

At the national level, Randy served on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Counties (NACo) representing members of the International Association of Emergency Managers. Randy is currently vice chairman for the NACo subcommittee on Homeland Security under the Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee, where recommendations for national policies are developed that address county concerns. Randy is one of a growing number of Emergency Management professionals across the country who is certified at the state and national levels.