RESNET® and the HERS® community have lost a founding father with the passing of Ron Hughes after a long illness. Ron was instrumental in forming the state-based home energy rating program, Energy Rated Homes of Arkansas with the support of then Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton. He was also instrumental in the creation of the national organization Energy Rated Homes of America. RESNET® was created through a collaboration of Energy Rated Homes of America, the National Association of State Energy Officials, and the Mortgage Bankers Association. Later in his career, Mr. Hughes’ career focus shifted to his beloved hometown of Little Rock, AR. In Little Rock, he founded a home energy rating company and served as the Sustainability & Energy Sector Programs Coordinator for Pulaski Technical College. Besides his career in growing the home energy rating industry, Ron was a noted musician. He was a fixture at the pick-up bands at RESNET® conferences over the years. His musical endeavors included playing at the first inauguration of Governor Bill Clinton and jamming with iconic American balladeer John Prine. RESNET® Executive Director Steve Baden commented that “it was a privilege to collaborate with Ron Hughes for over three decades. I particularly enjoyed working with him in the 1980s on having bipartisan legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate by Dale Bumpers (D-AR) and Ted Stevens (R-AK) to create a market-based national home energy rating system. Ron touched everyone with his Southern warmth, dedication, and humor, He will be missed by all who had the privilege to be in contact with him. But knowing Ron, I know he is up there, strumming his guitar with John Prine, telling tall tales, and having a cold one.”
