I understand that the West Point Society of Annapolis will nominate David Hughes for the US Military Academy's Distinguished Graduate Award for 2001. I first encountered Dave Hughes (and encounter is probably the right word) on one of the earliest online communities in the early 1980s. Even back then Hughes was a lone voice in the wilderness, a digital Jeremiah, preaching the gospel of small communities, and the virtues of digital self-reliance. Few people realized what he was really talking about back then, but he never gave up; indeed he persisted with increasing vigor and more gentle persuasion. Mostly Hughes led by example. He walked the talk. He was a true teacher and leader. The thing that everyone remembers about Hughes (besides the volume of his voice and size of his cowboy hat) is his unwavering faith that technology is a "good thing."  His enthusiasm for wiring up the world was infectious and effective. In addition, the fact that he was a former military officer changed the minds of many of the people he met. If for no other reasons (and there are many other reasons) Hughes deserves this award because he became one of the best ambassadors the military and West Point ever had in those remote territories we call Nerddom and Telecosm. I salute him.

Kevin Kelly