Long time retired engineer and quiet behind-the-scenes community leader Clyde Hemphill has been selected by the Kiwanis Club of La Cañada as the 2011 La Cañadan of the Year. Hemphill will be honored at a special luncheon, which will take place at Van De Kamp Hall at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge, on Wednesday, May 4 at noon.

Hemphill was born and raised in New Jersey and graduated from Rutgers University with a civil engineering degree in 1953. He went to work for The Glenn L. Martin Company in Baltimore, MD.  He and his wife Bobbie were married in February 1955 and a year later moved to Denver, CO with The Martin Company.  In 1969 Hemphill was appointed to run a filed office at JPL for the Martin Marietta Corporation.  He and his wife Bobbie settled in Southern California in 1969 after Hemphill was appointed to run a field office for The Martin Company. They raised four children – Chris, Cathy, Jeff and Pam, all of whom attended La Cañada schools.

After retiring from The Martin Marietta in 1995, Hemphill joined the Kiwanis Club of La Cañada. For the past five years he has served on the club’s board of directors and serves as its parliamentarian.

Always busy with Kiwanis volunteer work, Hemphill has had the lead responsibility for the set-up, tear down and operation of the hamburger sales on Fiesta Days in Memorial Park. He was also the lead in putting up the Christmas lights in Glenola Park. Last year he was the liaison with the YMCA for Kiwanis support for the prayer breakfast.

In 2010 he was appointed a director on the Valley Water Company Board and currently serves as a commissioner for the Public Works and Traffic Commission for the City of La Cañada Flintridge.

Members of the community have been invited to attend the luncheon and can secure reservations by contacting Mary Gant, president-elect at (818) 248-7664.

  clyde hemphill, Kiwanis Club, La Canadan of the year