of the
Information Security Professionals
A Non-Profit Organization
It is an honor and a privilege to be here today to give a special tribute to a true American patriot, Timothy Hughes. A patriot is defined as a person who loves, supports, and defends his country and its interests with devotion. I believe Tim was a true American patriot. Tim first showed his loyal patriotism to the United States by joining the United States Air Force and having a 21-year distinguished career. This was the first humble way Tim proudly served his country, without seeking glory or recognition for his numerous significant contributions. His selflessness was his gift to our society. Tim joined the Pikes Peak Chapter of the National Classification Management Society (NCMS), and he made history. He served terms as the Chapter Secretary and Chapter Treasurer before being overwhelmingly elected as the Chapter Chairperson. He proudly served two consecutive two-year terms as the Chairperson, the maximum number of terms allowed by the Chapter By-Laws for that position. Tim took his role and responsibilities very seriously, and always with a smile. He used his natural leadership to achieve the best results for our Chapter. Tim’s untiring efforts and positive attitude inspired the Chapter to pull together as a unified team to achieve results never before seen in the 40-year history of the National Society. We earned the Large Chapter of the Year Award an unprecedented three consecutive years, from 1998 through the year 2000. Tim was awarded the prestigious Society Award in 2000 for his numerous overall contributions to the local Chapter and to the National NCMS. Tim’s contagious enthusiasm and extreme pride in the Chapter allowed him to easily convince the National Board of Directors to select Colorado Springs as the host for the 2001 Annual Training Seminar, which was an overwhelming success. NCMS is a non-profit organization founded for the continuous improvement in the security field. Tim’s dedication and compassion for the local community allowed him to use the Chapter’s resources to help comfort many people. His efforts included making significant contributions to the Domestic Violence Center and the “Christmas Wish” Program for families affected by domestic violence, just to name a couple of community activities. Every security professional that ever interacted with Tim came away with a deeper knowledge and better understanding of security processes. But more than that, Tim was a great mentor who freely shared his experiences and wisdom with everyone. He was well respected and admired by all security professionals around the world. He was a great person and friend to all! It is my sincere honor to proclaim Timothy Hughes as the first permanent member of the NCMS Pikes Peak Chapter Board of Directors, for lifetime contributions above and beyond the call of duty. His legacy will continue because of the numerous programs he established. In Honor of Timothy G. Hughes…He Made This World A Better Place For Everyone. I remember one year when Tim won the personal award for bringing-most-new-members, and was granted a free membership for the year. I believe that he passed that on for someone else in our chapter whose company was not paying their yearly dues. For a while, there were monthly board meetings over breakfast at Gunther Toody's or Perkins...and he was always wide awake & fun even at that hour!
Sandra Z
What I remember about Tim is that he never complained about not feeling well. When he first was getting sick, I remember him coming to MITRE for NCMS meetings, me asking how he was and he would just say "Fine," even though you could tell he was not himself. And even though you knew he was in pain, he did his very best to make the meetings the best they could be and the chapter grew in his efforts. I remember when we were trying to get the National to Colorado Springs, how excited he was about advertising our home to the people at National, and how proud he was when we won. Even though he was already getting ill when we were setting up the conference and was not able to help us with as much as he would have liked, the look on his face the night of the dinner was so full of pride, especially when Tina was out there dancing. I believe if it were not for him, the chapter would not have grown as it did and we would not have had all the training seminars we had during his time as chairman.
When Tim asked me to be secretary of NCMS, I was just starting in security and was lost so many times. I called Tim countless times to ask questions, and Tim was always there with answers, or at least lead me to the right person. He never made me feel as though I was just plain stupid. He was a great mentor and a great man. Sure will miss him.
Fran Byczynski
My fondest memory of Tim will always be from a Christmas Season several years ago. The NCMS Chapter would obtain a wish list from an organization that supported battered women and children, fill that wish list, and then gather and wrap the presents and at an appointed time deliver those presents. Many of the women and children were in hiding throughout the city. On this particular night, Tim and I were paired together. We had to pass through several checkpoints to reach a mother and two little children on our list. When we arrived at the home, the man and wife that were providing shelter for the batter family introduced us. The mother reluctantly came out to meet with us, and it was obvious that she was still concerned about us being there. Tim, giant of a man that he was, stood there in his Santa Hat and assured her that we would do nothing to betray her location and security, and that they were safe while we were there. That big smile of his won her over, and she went to the cellar and brought two small children up to meet us. From that point on, it was truly Christmas all around, and the mother and children were able for a few brief moments to forget their troubles and fears. Santa Tim and I passed out the toys and other gifts and we both had tears in our eyes, but glad hearts. These folks had asked for only the basic necessities to sustain them from day to day. They had given us more than we had brought them. Tim will always be Santa to me.
Jim Harrod
The things I remember most about Tim
I first met Tim in the early 80s in the military and have known him since as a Professional Security Manager and good friend. I was extremely fortunate to have him on the same National Classification Management Society leadership team with me. There are three things that really stand out in my memory of Tim: his willingness to help anyone who needed him, his wonderful love of our country, and his Great Smile. I look forward to seeing Tim in Heaven. If I know Tim, he is already working hard for the Lord and enjoying it a whole lot more. It has been my privilege to have known him.
Ken Lardie
The entire Chapter has always admired Tim. He never got upset no matter how crazy things got. Whenever I had a security issue at work and had to talk to Tim about it he would always say “You’ll be alright, tomorrow will be another day.” He was a great man and will be missed.
Miki Knudson
I really admired Tim because he was such a great person in every way. He was a personal friend, mentor, and leader. I first met Tim in April 1998 when I became a member of the local Pikes Peak Chapter. He energized and motivated me to achieve great things. In December 1998 he asked me to become the Chapter Treasurer, which I did until December 2001. In February 2001 when I got laid off for the first time in my life, Tim comforted me and kept my spirits high while he searched for job opportunities for me. In just 8 weeks, the Pikes Peak Chapter found a perfect job opportunity for me and I got the job. My family and I will never forget Tim’s caring and concern for us. Tim was an extremely busy person because he was always so focused on helping everyone he could at his work, home, community, and Chapter activities, but he always made time for me. He gave each person his undivided attention to assist them in whatever way they needed. Tim was God’s gift to all of us. I really miss him and will always remember him.
Conrad C. Hertzog, Jr.
Tim Hughes was a wonderful man and I could fill pages with things that I remember about him. It is difficult to just pick a few, but here are the things that meant most to me. Tim was always coming up with great ideas for the Chapter, we began each meeting with The Pledge of Allegiance.
I will write more but I want to send this to you now.
Sherry