Born at Presbyterian Hospital, Matthew Ridenhour grew up in Charlotte and graduated from Charlotte Christian School where he played football and ran track. A charter member of Troop 7 at Calvary Church, Matthew became an Eagle Scout just before turning 18.
Matthew long dreamed of serving our nation, and he attended college at Virginia Tech studying accounting and was a member of the Corps of Cadets before transferring to AIU in Atlanta. In the summer of 2001, Matthew joined the US Marine Corps Reserve and attended boot camp at Parris Island, SC; afterwards he joined his unit at Ammunition Company, Greenville, SC. He volunteered for his first deployment to Iraq in January of 2005 and was stationed in the Al-Anbar province where he worked as a member of a Provisional Rifle Company, spending his time walking the streets looking for IEDs, standing post on the perimeter of the base, and conducting vehicle searches for contraband and weapons.
Matthew returned to Iraq once more in 2007, where he was attached to a military police company, providing convoy security throughout the Al-Anbar province. After that deployment, he returned home to Charlotte and married his wife, Abby.
In 2012 Matthew was elected to the Mecklenburg County Board of County Commissioners for District 5. During his time on the Commission he led the effort to redo the 2011 property revaluation, which ultimately returned over $70M back to taxpayers. He also led the successful effort to stop the public financing of a sports stadium at Memorial Stadium. Also, he led the successful vote to protect the 2nd amendment rights of citizens on county property. He has been a consistent, conservative voice for fiscal conservatism and the proper role of government.
In 2014, Matthew was named a member of the Charlotte Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 for his work in making Charlotte one of the best places to live and work.
Matthew was the founding Board member of Steele Creek Preparatory Academy, a majority-minority charter school on Shopton Road, where his daughter attends 1st grade.
Today, Matthew is a Risk Manager for a global financial technology firm and serves on the Board of Directors for area nonprofits: The May 20th Society, The Charlotte Trail of History, and Preserve Mecklenburg.
Matthew is married to his long-time sweetheart, Abby, and they currently reside in Huntingtowne Farms with their daughter (7) and son (4). Their son was delivered by Matthew in their driveway when he quickly realized Abby wouldn’t be able to get to the hospital in time. The Ridenhours are members of Sharon Presbyterian Church.
