BALTIMORE, Nov. 23, 2015 - Harry Jacobs, past president and current board member of the Long Island Metro Chapter, has been selected as this year's winner of the US Lacrosse Homer R. Schwartz Chapter Leadership Award.

Created in 2014 to recognize a US Lacrosse chapter leader who embodies the qualities of passion and dedication that Homer provided as a longtime US Lacrosse chapter volunteer, Jacobs is the second honoree to receive the award. Jacobs will be publicly recognized and receive the award in January at the 2016 US Lacrosse Convention in Baltimore.

Jacobs has served as a volunteer leader with the Long Island Chapter for over 20 years and was nominated for the award by his fellow chapter board members. As part of the nomination, the chapter leaders wrote, "We could go on and on about the different things Harry does and has done to help our chapter, but to sum it up, he has made and continues to make a positive, measurable difference in a lot of lives in a number of ways, and he does it with a fun booming voice, a big smile and the largest, hardest working heart around."

Dedication to the responsible development of lacrosse, passionate service for the sport, a spirit of collaboration and a commitment to good sportsmanship are all among the criteria for the award. In addition to service on numerous committees, Jacobs has been heavily involved in coordinating the chapter's support for Wounded Warrior events.

"Harry is not about words, he is about doing," said Andrea O'Connor, senior manager for membership and regional development at US Lacrosse. "Harry's in perpetual motion with a tireless commitment in support of lacrosse. For 40 years, he has been a man who quietly leads the local lacrosse community through actions, not words, and always with a smile on his face. It is an honor and a privilege to work with Harry."

Jacobs was selected as the award winner from among a strong candidate pool that included 14 nominations from 12 different chapters. The other nominees were:

Don Aiello - NorCal Chapter
Clark Bell - Michigan Chapter
Jeff Dreisbach - West Virginia Chapter
Cheryl Knudson - Nevada Chapter
Kevin McDonald - Eastern Mass Chapter
Michael Morse - Eastern Mass Chapter
Mark Mozier - Chesapeake Chapter
Peter O'Donnell - New Jersey North Chapter
John Poulton - Chesapeake Chapter
Eric Rudolph - Georgia Chapter
Nathan Snyder - Central Texas Chapter
Rick Suris - Long Island Metro Chapter
Blake Wahrlich - Montana Chapter

Homer Schwartz served as president of the Potomac Chapter of US Lacrosse for 14 years and passed away in 2012. Due in large measure to his enthusiastic leadership, selfless service and contagious love for the game, Potomac's membership grew from 1,200 to 10,000 during his tenure.