ESA Celebrates Women’s History Month: Sara E. Jackson — A Testament of Hard Work and Perseverance

It began as a week, but a special week at that, the first of which took place 43 years ago in Santa Rosa, California. Planned by the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women … “Women’s History Week,” it was called.

The commission realized that as recently as the 1970s women’s history was essentially an unknown topic in the K-12 curriculum, so to bring attention and honor to women’s contributions to American history, a week was set aside to do just that. Schools planned special programs with over 100 women stepping inside the walls of classrooms to inspire and motivate young minds; there was an essay contest; and the finale was a parade and program held in the center of downtown.

News of this traveled and in 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the week of March 8 as National Women’s History Week. Six years later, 14 states had declared March as “Women’s History Month” and in 1987, Congress declared March as National Women’s History Month in perpetuity to honor phenomenal achievements by American women.

It is our pleasure as the oldest and largest trade association in the United States representing the electronic security and life safety industry to celebrate former president of NBFAA and long-time president of the Denver Burglar Alarm (DBA) Company, Sara E. Jackson, for her extraordinary resilience within our industry.

The year was 1949; World War II ended four years prior, so the economy was experiencing an uptick. Women either worked in the home or in the business community or sometimes both.

Sara spent her time beside her husband, NBFAA’s president and business owner, tending to the day-to-day business needs of DBA, which was recognized as a leader in the Denver area. In December 1949, after the untimely death of her husband, Sara assumed the role of NBFAA president, completing her husband’s term from 1950-1951.

As one can imagine, losing a spouse is devastating; however, her leadership, work ethic, drive and determine she shared with the industry, even when dealing with the loss of her husband, is a testament to her perseverance. Her dedication to hard work served her well as a strong leader at the national level for the association while at the same time leading the successful family business.

We hope this story inspires other women in our industry as well as women considering our industry as their career.