Quoting from the SEG Constitution we find that "to be eligible to election to Honorary Membership, a person shall in the unanimous opinion of the Committee on Honors and Awards and the Executive Committee have made a distinguished contribution to geophysics or a related field which warrants exceptional recognition." The award traditionally goes to those who have made a career-long impact on geophysics and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists.
     In the case of John Woods, to single out any particular contribution would be gilding the lily, because his whole career in geophysics has been in itself a distinguished contribution and has certainly had a strong impact on our Society and our profession. He has brought to all of us an eloquence of word and idea that will not be forgotten. His sense of humor and perception of root principles have been most refreshing in a complex scientific world that often takes itself rather too seriously.
     Among his many talks and publications, three stand out in my memory. The first is his description of his experiments with his one-dimensional acoustic model Woods' Model I, as I call it. This paper called "Composition of Reflections: was selected as a Geophysics classic.
     The next one is "The Seismic Reflection Method" in which he described further experiments this time was a sparker-and-stool Woods Model II.
     The last of the three, "The Years of Progress," was his delightful spoof on the demand for a "breakthrough," which was our keynote address at this luncheon last year.
     Any one of these was a distinguished contribution worthy of exceptional recognition.
     None of us doubt John Woods' potential success in any career he might have chosen even that of a Shakespearean actor but I think we all are grateful to the fate that brought him to geophysics.
     In electing John P. Woods to Honorary Membership we award him our highest honor but by this very act we also do great honor to our own Society.

     John C. Hollister