Ephrata attorney receives hero award

EPHRATA - When Jerry Hamley went to a Washington State Bar Association luncheon, he had no idea he'd be named a hero there.

"Everyone in Central Washington were invited to Cave B, because that's where the board of governors were meeting," Hamley recalled.

The event was held at Cave B Winery in George in late July. Hamley had never been invited before, so he and a friend were in attendance.

"The state president of the bar association's speaking and I assume we're going to hear about the workings of the bar, and she said, 'There's a person here who's going to get an award that doesn't know they're going to get an award,'" he remembered. "She looks over at me and says, 'Jerry Hamley.' So that was nice."

Hamley received the Washington State Bar Association's Local Hero Award.

He believes he received the award because his service to the bar for over 20 years in Grant County and his work as co-founder of the North Central Washington National Fatherhood Initiative and his presidency of the Ephrata Rotary Club, amongst other services to the community.

Hamley was nominated by the Grant County Bar Association.

"I was very humbled about it, very pleased about it," he said of receiving the award.

"It was very nice to have the state bar recognize my efforts, both in the legal field and the field of community involvement."

In a time when it's difficult to turn on the television and see anything positive about attorneys, Hamley believes the association's award shows most attorneys will do good things. He pointed to the area's pro bono clinic at the North Columbia Community Action Council as an example, although he himself is unable to participate by statute.

"So I'm not the only one who does good things in the community," he said.

He also won the state bar association's Angelo Petruss Award for Lawyers in Public Service in 2002, which was primarily for his work on the Fatherhood Initiative.

"What we do is we try to connect fathers with their children," Hamley explained.

In free parenting classes, participants watch a nine-week video series, "Parenting With Dignity," by Mac Bledsoe, father of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe and listen to area experts on child care, budgeting, conflict management and childhood nutrition and health.

"The problem of absentee fatherism is huge," Hamley said. "Obviously, there are single mothers who do great without even having the father around and do a good job with their kids, but the statistics out of the National Fatherhood Initiative show children raised without a father, or truly with just one parent, are two to three times more likely to engage in criminal conduct, have psychological problems or use drugs and alcohol."

Hamley remains the chairman of the North Central Washington National Fatherhood Initiative.

Hamley arrived in Grant County in November 1980. He was the first deputy prosecuting attorney to work full time for the Grant County prosecutor's office child support section.

In 1983, he was elected secretary/treasurer of the Grant County Bar Association and served as its president in 1985.

The same year, he was chosen as one of the "Most Outstanding Young Men" in America by the Outstanding Americans Foundation.

In 1995, he was selected to "Who's Who in American Law," and became the full-time deputy in district court in Ephrata.

Later, he was appointed chief prosecutor by the Grant County commissioners and was the only deputy in the history of the prosecutor's office to practice full time in all its divisions.

Today, Hamley works as a Yakima deputy prosecuting attorney, a position he's held since 1998.

The local hero award serves as a reminder Hamley cannot rest on his laurels.

"When I look at that plaque, I have to say, 'I've been awarded a local hero and I need to live up to that,'" he said. "Basically, I want to leave this world better than when I entered it. I think if I've done that by the end of my final days, then I'll be happy about that."