Blaine postal carrier Dave Hamilton, 55, received national recognition for saving a woman from a dog attack earlier this year.
Hamilton’s union, the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, awarded him the “National Hero of the Year” honor in front of 1,500 people during the union’s convention on August 20 in Orlando, Florida. Hamilton was the only one named national hero after being selected among three other finalists who were regionally recognized for going above and beyond in their communities.
“I was exhilarated,” Hamilton said. “To be called a hero at all is really something, but being called ‘National Hero of the Year’ is incredible.”
Hamilton’s August 20 honor lined up exactly with his 20th year at the U.S. Postal Service, all of which he’s spent in Blaine.
Standing on stage, Hamilton said he was shocked to hear he had won the national award. Everyone else on stage had done notable acts of service, so Hamilton had no expectation of receiving the highest honor.
Orlando fire chief Charlie Salazar, who presented the award, cited Hamilton’s heroic act from a previous article in The Northern Light. Salazar said he was especially touched that Hamilton rushed in to help despite previously being bitten by dogs. Salazar gave Hamilton a firefighter challenge coin that Hamilton says he’ll always treasure.
The award recognizes Hamilton’s efforts during a dog attack he came across while delivering mail near 4th and Cherry streets in Blaine on February 22. Hamilton was covering an extra shift for the U.S. Postal Service when he saw a brown pit bull attacking Nadda Bryson, an older woman volunteering as a dog walker. Hamilton jumped out of his vehicle and went to help Bryson, who had fallen and injured her wrist. Hamilton threw an empty mail tub at the pit bull after it grabbed the small dog by the throat. The pit bull released the smaller dog and then tried to attack again, requiring Hamilton to push the pit bull back with an ice scraper.
Hamilton then moved Bryson into his truck before the dog could continue its attack. By this time, landscaper Nathan Wisland and his crew as well as neighbor Derrick Pennell had responded to the commotion, eventually removing the dog from the area, according to the Blaine Police Department.
Bryson was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center, where she was treated for a broken wrist.
Blaine police contacted the pit bull’s owner, who didn’t know how the dogs escaped. The owner was given a dog-at-large citation.
“I accepted this award for the community of Blaine,” Hamilton said. “People came to my help as I came to this woman’s help.”
