Lion David Hamilton was born in East Los Angeles and raised in the North Hollywood/ Sun Valley, California area. He enlisted in the U.S. Army during Viet Nam despite the fact he had a high draft number. While serving in Germany in a combat engineer unit and on the East Coast of the United States in “the Army’s Navy”, Lion David learned the worth of education and upon his release from the Army in 1975 continued a journey that would lead to a Juris Doctorate degree and a career as an attorney. During his entire college career, he worked full time while attending college and law school part-time at night.

Lion David has been married to his wife, Lion Gloria, his life-long friend, for 49 years and they are blessed with 6 grandchildren. He joined the Lions as a charter member of Visalia Sunset Lions in 1996 and spent 3 years writing their newsletter which sometimes would include crossword puzzles and quizzes. Due to a job change, Lion David left the club in 1999 but returned in 2012 and has served as 3rd, 2nd, and 1st Vice President, then finally President of Visalia Sunset Lions. The club awarded him the Harry J. Aslan Fellowship for his leadership as Club President 2017-2018. During his tenure as President, the club was a 100% participant in LCIF. While serving on the Visalia Sunset board as Immediate Past President, he was also District 4-A2, Zone 3 Chair, Central Region. Lion David is proud to have become a Melvin Jones Fellow in November 2019. In September 2015, Lion David was awarded the “Bachelor’s Degree” through Lions University at the USA/ Canada Leadership Forum in Grand Rapids, the first year the degree was offered. He completed the “coursework” for the Master’s degree in 2016 and attended the Leadership Forum in Omaha, but had not yet completed a state-level leadership Institute training, so in January 2017, he attended the MD-4 Leadership Institute Training in Sacramento and was awarded the Lions Master’s degree in September 2017 at the USA/Canada Leadership Forum in Portland. He also attended the 2019 Forum in Spokane. When not tending “Lion Business” Lion David likes to tend his succulents, playing & listening to music, and reading non-fiction, science fiction, and Discworld novels. As with all other Districts, Covid-19 has caused some great challenges, however, the Governor’s team and cabinet have risen to the challenge.

“What we have before us are some breathtaking opportunities disguised as insolvable problems.”
-John W. Gardnert

2703 S. Encina St. Visalia,CA 93277
H: 559 802-3334 C: 559 308-1810
E: davster13@hotmail.com