Joseph C. Jefferds, Jr. has been recognized as a businessman and author.  He was born in Charleston, West Virginia on June 24, 1919.  He attended public schools before graduating from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1940.  In 1969, Mr. Jefferds received an Honorary Doctor of Science from WV Institute of Technology. 

     Mr. Jefferds joined the military in 1940 and served on active duty through 1946. He entered the military as a 2nd Lieutenant Ordnance Department and was released from active duty as a Lieutenant Colonel, Ordnance Corps.  He has been in the retired reserve since1952. 

     As well as being chairman of the Jefferds Corporation, Mr. Jefferds also serves as president of Mechanical Equipment Service Co.  He served as a director for United Bankshares and Bell Atlantic, Corp.  He is currently a director emeritus for United Bankshares.

     Organizations with which he is affiliated include the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Institute of Industrial Engineers, the Engineers Club of Huntington and the Defense Preparedness Association.   Mr. Jefferds is a past president of the Charleston Rotary Club, and past Rotary District Governor.  He is past president of the Edgewood Country Club and a member of the Ponte Vedra Club and the Anvil Club.

     Mr. Jefferds is director of the WV Institute of Technology Foundation and the WV Department of Culture and History Foundation.  He is a trustee emeritus for the University of Charleston, a trustee for the Highland Hospital and a past trustee for the Marshall University Graduate College.  Mr. Jefferds. has authored two books on local history and served as president of the WV History Film project.

     Mr. Jefferds has four children, three living, three grandchildren and a great granddaughter.