At the AGM of the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation, held on 30th July 2022, Brett McDougall was presented with the Johannesburg Heritage Lifetime Honorary Membership Award. This gratefully acknowledges his extensive contribution to the work of the JHF over the last decade.
In that time, Brett served as Chairman of the JHF from 2015 to 2018. He also expanded the influence of the Joint Plans Committee by creating the JPC East for Johannesburg’s eastern suburbs, and he has chaired that committee for the last four years.
He has served as treasurer of the JHF since 2018, and has been an outstanding tour guide and lecturer, researching and developing several new tours. In the arena of Social Media, Brett modernized the JHF and continues to run our Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter accounts. He was also very active in redeveloping our new website.
He was very active regarding the Johannesburg Bus Rapid Transit system (the BRT) and its impact on the heritage of the areas through which it was routed. He has formulated a JHF position on the redevelopment of Patterson Park and pressed for the preparation of proper Heritage assessments.
Brett proposed and led several restoration projects for the JHF, including Hilson Bridge, House Bleloch and the Orange Grove Waterfall, and Stewart Drive. He was also heavily involved with attempting to resolve the on-going problems at the Johannesburg Art Gallery.
He is also a most important member of the Blue Plaques team, often drafting the wording for the plaques – one of the hardest parts of the process.
Brett recently relocated to Cape Town but remains a committed player in Johannesburg Heritage and the JHF. We thank him for his substantial contributions and wish him well with his future endeavours.
The prestigious Honorary Lifetime certificate reads: “Awarded to Brett McDougall for his Contribution as Chairman, Treasurer, Financial planner, Tour leader and researcher. Brett has chaired the Johannesburg Joint Plans Committee East for many years. He has shown outstanding dedication and service to the Foundation to Johannesburg for a decade.”
Well deserved!
