Jack C. Hughston, MD, founder of The Hughston Clinic and The Hughston Foundation, had a favorite saying, “As long as you’re green, you’re still growing. Once you’re ripe, you’re next to rotten.” For Dr. Hughston, who died in 2004, growing meant being educated and educating others.

Dr. Hughston was a visionary in the truest sense of the word, but unlike many visionaries, he had a tenacity of purpose like few others we will ever know. Dr. Hughston’s concept of a foundation for teaching and research in orthopaedics and sports medicine as a necessary part of his clinical practice of orthopaedics became a reality when he established The Hughston Foundation. The young men and women who trained with him learned how to examine, listen to, and have respect for the patient. His residents, fellows, and visitors also learned from him that research depends on careful documentation of one’s observations and, ultimately, that knowledge must be shared through the presentation and publication of one’s work.