Hugh Weber, Sioux Falls designer, networking and community advocate, died Wednesday

Hugh Weber, proponent of the Sioux Falls community and founder of OTA and Dude to Dad, died suddenly on Wednesday, according to an Instagram post from The Great Discontent.

Weber was described as a researcher, a network theorist, a storyteller, and an advocate of design and the arts. He most recently served as the CEO of the WE MUST BE BOLD community design studio and as the COO of its publication, The Great Discontent media company, which serves as "an amplifier of emerging creatives."

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Their Instagram post reads:

There is no easy way to share this news, and the tremendous sense of loss and sadness we feel, which is only buoyed by how much we know he loved and valued you all as friends, collaborators and members of his beloved community. And how deeply he was loved in return.…Hugh thrived in the realm of possibility. As the publisher of The Great Discontent, he pushed us all to dream what's next. And today, as we hold his memory gently, we are reminded of a few simple words he held closely, yet felt so expansively: we must be bold.

One of the things Weber was most known for was OTA, a nonprofit networking organization for creatives in South Dakota, North Dakota and Minnesota he headed from 2009 to 2017. OTA had hosted 11 large-scale events and welcomed hundreds of creative leaders from across the region and the country.

Weber also started DudetoDad.com in 2008 as a way to help himself and other first-time dads. It has since grown into a social network of 85,000 fathers and two parenting books: “Dude to Dad: The First 9 Months,” and “Wisdom for Dad: Advice for Dad in 140 Characters or Less.”

He was also the first to orchestrate Sioux Falls TEDx events in 2014, according to the TEDx Sioux Falls Facebook post.

“He helped us, as the current organizers, bring them back in 2019 where we had him lead off the first talk of the night. We’re saddened by the loss of Hugh and feel for the Weber’s at this tragic time,” the post reads.

Past coverage:Sioux Falls is having a design moment. Here's why, and why it matters

Weber had partnered with companies such as Microsoft, Nintendo and Ford in the past, and he was featured by publications like the Washington Post, Inc. Magazine and New Zealand National Radio. His daughter, Emerson, even had her own feature in the Argus Leader in 2020.

A GoFundMe has been created to help support his family, which includes his wife Amy, daughter Emerson and son Finn. The page has already made over $14,000 of its $15,000 goal from 165 donors.

Details regarding services will be shared at a later time.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Sioux Falls designer, networking advocate Hugh Weber died Wednesday