I was born in Charleston WV and grew up in South Charleston. I graduated from South Charleston HS, where I played football and ran track. I earned my bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from West Virginia University. Not thrilled at the prospect of working day in and day out in a laboratory, I returned to school at Fairmont State College to earn a teaching certificate so I could engage in both of my passions: science and sports. I have been employed and resided in Bridgeport since 1987.
I was a teacher and coach for over three decades at Bridgeport High School. In my time at Bridgeport High School, I taught Chemistry, Environmental Science, Physical Science, Earth Science, Computer Information, and Computer Programming. I served as the Head Boys Track & Field Coach for 32 years, the Head Girls and Boys Cross Country Coach for 13 years, the Assistant Freshmen Football Coach for 7 years, and the Head Freshmen Football Coach for 10 years. In my retirement, I continue to work as the Head Referee for the WV State Track & Field Championships, am a founding member of the Derek Hotsinpiller Fallen Stars 5K Race Committee, write a biweekly blog for Connect Bridgeport, and have been elected to Bridgeport City Council. This past October (2023) I was inducted into the Bridgeport High School Alumni and Friends Foundation Hall of Fame.
My wife, Heidi, a former BHS teacher and Harrison County Board Of Education administrator is now a corporate trainer for Agile 5 Technologies. I am blessed to have four successful children, all graduates of Bridgeport High School. Benjamin is a network cloud engineer for Leidos, Jonathan is a veterinarian in Pittsburgh, Jacob is the Associate City Engineer for the City of Bridgeport and Marinda is a traveling Radiology Technician. I also have two awesome BHS graduate daughters-in-law in the former Megan Thorne who is married to Ben and the former Ashton Nestor who is married to Jacob. Ben and his wife Megan, who is also a graduate of BHS, are the parents of my first grandchild, Ryan.
The Hotsinpiller family has been an integral part of the Bridgeport community for as long as I have been here. Pam and I were coworkers at Bridgeport High School and both of her sons, Derek and Dustin, were students of mine. JIm, Derek and Dustin’s legacy of service is something I want to honor. The job that law enforcement officers perform daily is worthy of praise. Those that make the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf need to be elevated as the heroes they are.
The James and Derek Hotsinpiller Memorial Foundation, Inc. is solely responsible for the content of this website. The official badge of Deputy U.S. Marshals is used with permission of the U.S. Marshals Service and does not indicate an endorsement by that agency of the content of this website.
