Hamilton to be feted for service to city
Bob Hamilton is one of those staunch Calgarians who are super promoters of this city. He gives so much of his time in support of the community, particularly in the areas of sport and health.
Hamilton will have more time in the new year as he has informed RBC that after 28 years with the bank he is retiring from his position as vice-president business development.
His interest in health stems from his daughter’s cancer recovery and the tragic loss of his son, Tim, who was killed in an industrial accident. His wife, Julie, has made it her life’s work to speak out on worker safety and travels North America speaking on the subject.
Any monies received for her speaking engagements are donated directly into an endowment the couple founded in Tim’s name with the Children’s Wish Foundation.
Bob and Julie are most grateful for the grief counselling they received and one of the many organizations the Hamiltons support is the Bob Glasgow Grief Counseling Centre at the former Alberta Children’s Hospital. Bob was a member of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation at the time it was built.
Sport is a passion that has served him well. Born in Welland, Ont., Hamilton moved with the family to Syracuse, N.Y., when his father accepted a job there in the steel industry. Hamilton returned to Canada to attend Wilfrid Laurier University to study business, marketing and finance and to play on its football team.
He was drafted to play for the Toronto Argonauts in 1971 — he remembers well the Grey Cup loss that year to the Stampeders — and was later traded as a tightend to the Hamilton TigerCats.
During his football career, Hamilton worked in insurance and estate planning for Canada Life and then Canada Trust in Toronto and London, Ont., but made the move to Calgary in 1982 with Royal Trust as vicepresident, corporate services with responsibilities for Western Canada. In 1993, the business was purchased by RBC and he has worked for the company ever since.
One of the best networkers in the city, Hamilton has made a big impact within our sports community and will be recognized Tuesday at a Calgary Petroleum Club book launch for From Shame to Fame, a memoir by Sheryn Posen on Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
The book is dedicated to Hamilton as one of the prime instigators in bringing the facility to Calgary. He says that thanks to the late Lieff Pettersen, who also played for the Ti Cats, he was asked to join the board and help pitch for the relocation of the history of Canada’s athletes from Toronto.
The presentation was funded by Calgary Sports Tourism Authority — Hamilton also sits on its board — and Calgary was shortlisted and eventually awarded the bid. Then it had to find the funding. Hamilton and his team set to work raising $30 million from governments, with additional funds from the private sector, and accepted the generous offer from then WinSport president and CEO Guy Huntingford of three acres of land at Canada Olympic Park.
The 40,000-square-foot Hall is a national icon and Hamilton, is vice-chair of the of WinSport board.
Today is the 84th anniversary of the Persons Case and the public are invited to help celebrate at an event that will take place at 11:30 a.m. by the Famous 5 monument on Olympic Plaza.
Paul Derksen has joined Shane Olin, president of Blackstone Commercial Real Estate Services, as industrial land and development consultant.
Previously he was senior vice- president, regional partner with Verus Partners and he has been retained by them to continue with its new industrial building project he launched for Verus and Morguard Investments just south of the CrossIron Mills shopping centre.