Trying to keep up with Hanford's new planning commissioner, Dennis Ham, is not easy — he belongs to many community organizations to help better people’s experience in Hanford and Kings County.
Ham was appointed to the Planning Commission in June, a position he has held three times since the 1990s.
“I love the environment here and the locals are great people,” he said.
Ham was born in Stockton, and his family moved to Hanford in 1962, just in time for Ham to start his studies at Hanford High School East.
His parents moved to become the owners and staff at Chicago Title in Hanford while Ham, his brother and sister attended local schools.
Community service was always part of his family’s goals. His father, Stan Ham, even served Hanford as its mayor in the early 2000s.
After graduation from Hanford High in 1962, Ham earned his degree in engineering from Fresno State College in 1971, the last graduating class before the college was named California State University, Fresno. He likes to make note of the distinction.
His first job was in Seattle as an engineer for the Federal Aviation Administration, and he was later transferred to Los Angeles where he worked until his aging parents’ health brought him back to Hanford.
During that time he also worked at Chicago Title.
He is a member of the Taoist Temple Society and the China Alley Preservation Group, which is working to restore and repair much of Hanford’s China Alley including the Taoist Temple — damaged in a fire in 2021 — the laundry building and the Hong Kong Café.
“The outside cameras caught the homeless that were living in cardboard boxes and camping next to the Temple’s porch. We were going to use those tapes to apprehend the people who were trespassing on this property but after announcing his group had these tapes, the tapes disappeared,” Ham said.
Ham was also a volunteer with the Hanford Police Department.
“At first we learned about the city police policy and laws concerning the use of the police," Ham said. It wasn’t long until he was asked to go on patrol with officers, and he even became responsible for helping the officers impound cars.
“I’d stay with the car until a tow truck could take it to the impound area and let the officer go on to other calls,” he explained.
Working with the police helped Ham become aware of all parts of Hanford, a knowledge which helped him learn about all parts of the city and helps him with the city’s Planning Commission, he said.
“Now that was a fun event,” he said, recalling his time with the police on New Year's Eve 1999. “The whole police force was out that night prepared to deal with any melt down. Nothing happened,” he laughed.
Ham also served as a member of the Hanford Improvement Association where he said he learned to love the city's downtown area.
For many years Ham used a big trike for local trips. Because the trike was hard to navigate, he now has an electric bicycle, a mode of transportation he finds reliable, he said.
Ham said he can’t picture himself not being involved with the area’s people.
“I want to help make Hanford and Kings County prosper, so that every resident of the city and county can also prosper,” Ham said.
