Education: Buckhannon-Upshur High School; Potomac State College; Ohio State Fire Academy; Investment Institute of Atlanta
Occupation: Retired Independent Insurance Agency Owner
Spouse: Carolyn Sue Winemiller
Children: D. Shawn and Jeremy W. Hamilton; James R. Powell, II and eight grandchildren; 3 great-grandchildren
Parents: the late Winferd W. Hamilton and Mary J. Hamilton
Religion: Catholic
Town of Birth: Buckhannon, WV
Affiliations: Member, Franklin Lodge #7 AF & AM; Tennerton Lions club; Potomac Highlands Shrine Club; Upshur County Shrine Club; Osiris Temple A.A.O.n.M.S. of Wheeling, WV; National Wild Turkey Federation; Lifetime Member, National Rifle Association; Buckhannon Moose Lodge #598; named “2001 Agent of the Year” by Independent Insurance Agents of West Virginia; 2005 Citizen of the Year, Southern-Upshur Business Association; Upshur County Farm Bureau; Mountaineer Chapter-Izack Walton League; Lifetime Member, Upshur County Association of Retired School Employees; Upshur County Hunter Safety Instructor, 33 years.