 | ANN SMITH BEDSOLE |
The following biographical sketch was updated in October 2002.
Ann Smith Bedsole is a native of Selma, Alabama. She is the daughter of White
Smith and Sybil Huey Smith. Along with her family, she spent many of her
younger years in Jackson, Alabama. Following high school graduation, she
entered the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. She later continued her
educational pursuits at Denver University.
Mrs. Bedsole is the owner and operator of Bedsole Farms and President and Chairman of the Board of White Smith Land Co. She also chairs the
distribution committee of the Sybil H. Smith Charitable Trust. In 1978 Ann Bedsole
became the first Republican woman ever to be elected to the Alabama House of
Representatives. The citizens of Mobile County were not slow in recognizing her
worth as a public official and at the next state election, elevated her to the position
of Alabama State Senator. She was the first woman ever to fill such a position.
While serving in the state senate, she was appointed Chairman of the Agriculture,
Conservation and Forestry Committee.
Although she was pressed for time with her own business and the responsibilities
of representing the people of her district, she nevertheless accepted the
responsibility of serving on the Board of Trustees of Spring Hill College and Huntingdon College. Senator
Bedsole was instrumental in founding the Alabama School of Mathematics and
Science. She was also founding president of Mobile Historic Homes Tours and the Alabama Forest Resources Center. Currently she serves as President of Mobile Tricentennial, Inc.
Senator Bedsole's ability in leadership and accomplishment has been recognized
statewide as well as at home. She has received the Meritorious Public Service
Award from both the Montgomery Advertiser and the Alabama Journal. She has
also been recipient of Honorary Doctor of Law degrees from Mobile College and
Huntingdon College. Ann Bedsole was elected the First Lady of Mobile in 1972, Mobilian of the Year in 1993, and Philanthropist of the Year in 1998.
Ann Smith Bedsole is the wife of Palmer Bedsole, Mobile business executive. They
are the parents of three children and the grandparents of seven.
Updated: 03/13/07