When David Hamilton takes vacation time from his work with an engineering firm based out of Columbia, he doesn't pack up the van and head for Disney World.
He prefers to get his hands dirty.
Hamilton, who moved to Hatton in January after a job change and to be closer to his grandchildren, recently returned from a trip to Colorado, helping displaced residents sift through their homes ravaged by the state's recent wildfires.
He spent a week in the state beginning July 11 with 12 other volunteers on a trip sponsored by the Missouri Baptist Convention, partnered with the American Red Cross.
"We went out there after the fires went through and were helping people who had gotten burnt out and lost their homes," he said. "Many of those people were out at work and were just told to evacuate, so some of them were out of a home for three weeks, and when they went back up everything was gone. I was out there just trying to help them recover."