Mr. Kirven and his wife, Diane, live near Simpsonville where he operates a real estate appraisal and consulting business. They have a daughter, Lee, who is a graduate student at the University of Kentucky.

Mr. Kirven is a military veteran and a retired brigadier general of the Army National Guard having served in Operation Noble Eagle following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Mr. Kirven has served as president of the National Guard Association of South Carolina, president of the Presbyterian College Alumni Association, chairman of the Simpsonville Area Chamber of Commerce, member of the board of directors of the National Guard Association of the United States, and currently serves as chairman of the Special Building Committee of National Guard Memorial Building in Washington, D. C.

Mr. Kirven was elected to Greenville County Council on November 2, 2004, and elected by council as chairman January 4, 2005, and again on January 2, 2007. This is his first term in elected public office.