FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Cumberland County Register of Deeds J. Lee Warren Jr. retired after more than 30 years serving as an elected official in Cumberland County. Warren was recognized in a retirement ceremony Nov. 19, held in the Judge E. Maurice Braswell Cumberland County Courthouse. The ceremony was attended by past and present Cumberland County Commissioners, County Management Team members and employees, N.C. Courts officials, N.C. Registers of Deeds from throughout the state and other dignitaries.
Warren’s service in public office began in 1992 when he was elected to the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners. He was re-elected twice and served as chairman three times. Warren was appointed to the office of Register of Deeds in May 2003 while he was serving as a Cumberland County Commissioner. Warren was then elected in 2008, and re-elected in 2012, 2016 and 2020.
During his administration as Register of Deeds, Warren implemented instant land record recording and initiated the massive task of digitizing vital records dating back to 1754, making them accessible online.
Warren served as President of the North Carolina Register of Deeds Association in 2012 and was awarded the Eunice Ayers Award in 2013, the association’s most prestigious award.
Under Warren’s leadership, the Register of Deeds office received the iGO Innovator Award in 2019. Warren, who is also a talented artist, designed the winning cover for the North Carolina Guidebook for Registers of Deeds (11th edition) in 2022.
“Lee Warren’s unwavering dedication to Cumberland County has made a lasting impact on our community,” said Board of Commissioners Chairman Glenn Adams. “His leadership and innovative contributions to both the Board of Commissioners and the Register of Deeds office have set a standard of excellence that will be felt for years to come. On behalf of the Board of Commissioners, we thank Lee for his decades of service and wish him the very best in his well-deserved retirement."
A lifelong resident of Cumberland County, Warren is a graduate of Methodist College and completed the International Association of Clerks, Recorders, Election Officers and Treasurers Certificate of Public Leadership program from George Washington University in 2016.
Senior Assistant Register of Deeds Andra Brewington filed for Register of Deeds office and was elected Nov. 5. Brewington has been with the Cumberland County Register of Deeds since 1996. She will be sworn in Dec. 2.
Learn more about the Cumberland County Register of Deeds at ccrod.org.