Community thoughts, prayers directed toward Hamilton
The Glendale Unified board meeting on Tuesday closed on a somber note as board president Greg Krikorian relayed the district’s best wishes to community supporter Eric Hamilton, who has been seriously ill.
“I want our thoughts and prayers — and obviously he’s going to fight through this — but we’re going to join on this fight for Mr. Eric Hamilton and what he’s going through,” Krikorian said. “We’re going to fight this together as one community, one district, and our thoughts and prayers go out to Eric and his family, and we’re really behind him in everything he’s doing.”
Hamilton, the St. Francis High mountain bike coach and an agent with Crescenta Valley Insurance, is suffering from cancer and has been in and out of the hospital the past few weeks battling a variety of critical health issues.
“It’s horrible,” said Rick Dinger, St. Francis High football announcer and president of Crescenta Valley Insurance . “I found out about 2½ weeks ago and since then he’s been in the hospital two times ... It’s awful, too, because he’s [otherwise] the healthiest guy I know.”
Hamilton has several area ties as he’s the president of the Glendale Educational Foundation, a graduate of both Hoover High School and Glendale Community College and was voted the Glendale Chamber of Commerce’s 2014 Man of the Year. He also worked as a training manager at Baskin Robbins’ corporate facility in Burbank.
The Shadow Hills resident’s sons Austin and Garrett graduated from St. Francis in 2015 and 2018, respectively.
“We just want to send him all our thoughts and prayers during this tough time,” said Nancy MacNair, administrative assistant for the Glendale Educational Foundation. “He’s such a healthy man and this has been a terrible shock. We want to do what we can to help.”
Glendale Unified board member Jennifer Freemon helped establish a “meal train,” which consists of a group of volunteers who donate cooked or prepared meals for the family as they travel between their residence and the hospital.
Those interested in signing up for the meal train can call the Glendale Educational Foundation at (818) 247-0466.
“He can use some positive thoughts from the community,” Dinger said. “His family has been going through a lot, and we’re hoping he pulls through.”
