Richard M. Hughes
Reared in Salem, Virginia, Dick Hughes graduated from Andrew Lewis High School in 1956. His scholastic activities included membership in the Hy-Y Club and Industrial Arts Club. He attended Ferrum Junior College for one year before the start of his senior year at Andrew Lewis.
Dick joined the U.S. Army Reserve in February 1956 and served on active duty for six months in 1957. He received basic training at Fr. Jackson, South Carolina, and was assigned to the MP school at Ft. Gordon, Georgia, for Advanced Combat MP Training. After six years in the Army Reserve, he was honorably discharged in 1962 with the rank of Spec. 4.
Dick attended Richmond Professional Institute (RPI) in 1957 and, following active military duty, attended the School of Architecture at Virginia Tech (VPI&SU) from 1959 through 1961. With concentrated study during the period of 1968 through 1970, he received professional certification as an architect.
Dick is a registered architect in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee with 41 years of experience. He worked with several architecture firms until 1984 when he established Hughes Associates, Architects. The company has grown from one person to being the third largest architectural firm in the Blue Ridge Region of Virginia employing a staff of eighteen. The firm has designed churches, commercial buildings, homes for the elderly, healthcare facilities, motels, and hotels.
In the Roanoke Valley, this has included the Stone Printing & Manufacturing Company building that serves as headquarters for Advanced Auto Parts. The firm also planned additions to the First Baptist Church and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Roanoke, the Bonsack Baptist Church, and in Salem the College Lutheran Church, West Salem Baptist Church, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, Church of Christ, and First United Methodist Church. Commercial projects have included dental offices for Burks Logan, Ginger’s Jewelry Store, various motels on Valley View Boulevard, and branch banks throughout the area. The combination of Dick’s integrity and knowledge in the field of architecture have played a major role in the firm’s growth and success.
His professional association includes membership in the American Institute of Architects, and being a member and past director of both the Virginia Society and Blue Ridge Chapter of AIA. Dick has also served as a director of the Blue Ridge Chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute and Board member of the Roanoke Valley Homebuilders Associate Advisory Council. Past appointments include serving as a panel member for the America Arbitration Association and as a member of the Roanoke County Electrical Examining Board.
Dick has coached both boys and girls basketball teams, is a member of the Salem Rotary Club, and a member of the First United Methodist Church in Salem. He and his wife Juanita Marie now reside in Roanoke County. They have two adult children, Richard M. Hughes, Jr. and Jeffery Burton Hughes.
In recognition of his outstanding career achievements, Richard M. Hughes is inducted into the 2003 Salem Alumni Hall of Fame established by the Salem Educational Foundation and Alumni Association.
