Editor’s Note:  The Bridgeport High School Alumni and Friends Foundation have announced the 2015 Hall of Fame Class. The banquet honoring individuals will be Oct. 31 with the social hour starting at 6 p.m. and the program starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30 and can be obtained by contacting Fay Jamison at 304-842-6510 or Cookie Compton at 304-677-2005. The event is at the Bridgeport Conference Center. Below is the final of four biographies of the honorees for this year.

 

Senator Nancy Camp Jacobs is a member of the Bridgeport High School Class of 1969. She graduated from West Virginia University in 1973 with a bachelor of science degree in both journalism and speech and a minor in secondary education.

 

In 1974, Senator Jacobs and her husband Bruce moved to Harford County, Maryland.

 

Senator Jacobs was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1994 where she served four years before being elected to the Maryland Senate in 1998. During her time in the House of Delegates, she was the Deputy Whip.

 

Senator Jacobs was elected Senate Minority Leader in 2011 and holds the distinction of being the first woman in Maryland history to hold that position. Prior to becoming Minority Leader, she was Minority Whip.

 

Senator Jacobs is known for her outspoken advocacy for tougher sexual predator laws. In 2007, she sponsored “Jessica’s Law,” requiring that the most heinous sex crimes against children be punishable with a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence. She has passed numerous laws since that time in her effort to protect both vulnerable children and adults.

 

Senator Jacobs passed the first gang law in Maryland after a constituent was murdered as part of a gang invitation in the town home community where she once lived. She has been at the forefront of tackling gang issues.

 

She’s been named one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women on three occasions and has received numerous legislative awards including being named Senator of the Year by the Maryland’s State Attorney Association. She holds one of the highest lifetime pro-business ratings by Maryland Business for Responsive Government and was named one of Harford County’s “2015 Most Beautiful People.”

 

After graduating from WVU, Senator Jacobs worked for WSLS-TV in Roanoke, Virginia. Once in Maryland, she taught tennis and owned and operated West Shore Indoor Tennis Club in Edgewood from 1976-84. She also coached several high school tennis teams and ran tennis programs throughout her county. Before entering politics, she was the Maryland Representative for Concerned Women for America and lobbied on behalf of pro-family legislation.

 

Senator Jacobs was the highest ranked Republican woman in Maryland before her retirement from the Senate in January of 2015. The Jacobs have been dividing their time between Florida and Maryland since her retirement. Senator Jacobs holds a certified professional rating from the U.S. Professional Tennis Registry and coaches her granddaughter’s junior tennis team in Maryland during the summers.

 

Senator Jacobs’ husband Bruce is a certified industrial hygienist and owns an environmental consulting firm. The Jacobs have three married daughters and eight grandchildren.

 

“We’re so very pleased with this year’s honorees,” said Alumni and Friends President Darletta Stout. “What’s impressive is that the group as whole is certainly highly educated, but they’re more noted for what they’ve given back to their communities either here or where they’ve been. The impact they’ve made in Bridgeport and beyond is a testament to the high school and the individuals that are being recognized.”