Hamilton, family settling in nicely after move from L.A.
By JULIE SCHOERKE
For Williamson A.M.
After the 1980 Winter Olympics, Scott Hamilton won 16 straight championships.
FRANKLIN — Aidan Hamilton has enough star wattage to light up a room when he walks in. When he picks up a guitar, hold on, you’re in for a treat. The (almost) 3-year-old has moved to the Franklin area from Los Angeles and brought his parents, Tracie and Scott, along.
Yes, Dad would be that Scott Hamilton. You know, the Olympic gold medal winner; the world-renowned figure skater who won 16 consecutive championships between 1980-84; an inductee into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame; the creator of and force behind Smucker’s Stars on Ice; the world-class humanitarian who has raised tens of millions of dollars for cancer research and education as well as other causes.
The Hamiltons felt almost a “gravitational pull” to move here. Tracie’s family connections — she is originally from Jackson, Tenn. — made the move to Middle Tennessee a natural for the family. Her mother is one of 11 children, Tracie says. With 82 family members who gather for Christmas (they have to meet in a gymnasium there are so many of them), they wanted their son to grow up surrounded by family.
“I don’t feel like it’s coming home, because it’s a whole new wonderful experience,” Tracie explains of the move a few weeks ago to Middle Tennessee. Tracie had lived in Los Angeles for years, working as a nutritionist, before she and Scott married in 2002. A native of Bowling Green, Ohio, Scott says that as soon as he arrived in Franklin it felt like home.”We loved it as singles and as a married couple in L.A. But, I feel really at home here. It’s a whole different speed. We’re so relaxed to be here,” Scott says of their new home.
In less than a month since arriving in Franklin, Tracie and Scott already have blended into the community. Tracie and Aidan are regulars at “My Gym.” Aidan’s parents can’t say enough good things about the program there and the bump in self-confidence, social skills and physical agility it has provided for their young son. They have participated in the small-town activities of Leiper’s Fork. Scott is positively effusive about the neighbors and pace the little community offers. They wasted no time in getting their home set up, with the help of Tracie’s relatives, so that they could enjoy such family activities as the recent Chukkers for Charity polo match to support the Saddle Up! therapeutic riding program. Scott even worked as a waiter at Sandy’s Downtown Grille along with longer-term local celebs including Titan Erron Kinney, Christian artist Michael W. Smith and author Robert Hicks during a recent fundraiser for New Hope Academy.
They have friends everywhere they go. Tracie and Scott had a number of friends in the Nashville area even before they moved here, such as Laura Sanders, head of Southern Ice Arena Skating School, and her husband, Bill Fauver, 1976 and 1984 Olympic skater and the figure skating coach at Southern Ice Arena. Scott says he and “Billy” met in 1968.”I’ve known him since before Tracie was even born!” Scott teases his wife.
Middle Tennessee offers quality of life
For those complaining about congestion on the highways here, the Hamiltons offer another perspective. They were surprised to learn how easily and quickly they could get from the Nashville area to Memphis — about three hours by car. That’s a lot quicker than the four or five hours it took them to get to the desert in California to visit friends, traveling about the same distance. The summer heat?”I’ve been cold for so long that it’s OK to be hot,” Scott says of this summer in Middle Tennessee. Their friends in the area encouraged them to go ahead and get moved here and experience a Tennessee summer right off the bat.
Scott says he moved to L.A. because it was the right place for him to be when he was concentrating on his career and work in figure skating. As a big city, it provided an opportunity to be anonymous. People didn’t expect others to make eye contact or say hello on the street. But, Tracie and Scott agree that Franklin is the right place to be at this time in their lives. The move here is a significant step in their choice to be family centered.”Every decision we’ve made (recently) has been for family. I wanted to be a really good dad,” Scott explains.
Tracie and Scott have appreciated the shower of food they received from their Williamson County neighbors when they first arrived. They quickly add that this kind of friendliness is not what one could expect moving to Los Angeles. Tracie also discusses the importance of paying close attention to their son and the way that he interacts with the world. He is polite to the point that he thanks Boogie, his 13-month-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel, for kisses anytime the dog decides to dole them out.
For the first time, Aidan has a yard with plenty of grass to play outside. He talks and thinks about skating since it has surrounded him during his short life, but his parents are happier to have him concentrating on swimming lessons. Golf with his dad will come soon. It’s easy to see why Aidan, who greets all guests with a handshake and a “pleased to meet you,” is so gregarious. His mother and father are friendly and open to the point that locals will probably find it hard to believe the Hamiltons haven’t always lived here.