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National Parking Association
1112 16th Street NW, Suite 840
Washington, DC 20036
www.npapark.org

District of Columbia Honors Leonard B. "Bud" Doggett Jr.


On May 15, 2009, the District of Columbia named the 700 block of 10th Street NW "Bud Doggett's Way" to honor Leonard B. "Bud" Doggett, a DC businessman and philanthropist, and former NPA president, who died in August 2008.

DC Council Chair Pro Tempore Jack Evans served as Master of Ceremonies for the dedication. Speakers included Mayor Adrian Fenty, Council Chair Vincent Gray, Congressman Steny Hoyer (MD-5) and Doggett's wife Cherrie Doggett.

During the dedication, Evans joked that Doggett was likely "heading the Public Works Division in heaven. I'm sure he is rising up the ranks quickly," said Evans.

Gray called Doggett "the most selfless person I ever met" and said Doggett was a mentor to him and many others in the city.

Doggett stood out for what he did for others, Fenty said, a sentiment that was echoed by Hoyer, who called Doggett a "quiet giant" of a man. "How privileged we are to honor him," Hoyer said.

Doggett served the people of Washington, both in business and in his community, throughout his entire professional life. He became president of the Greater Washington Board of Trade in 1967 and fought to encourage diversity at a time when most businesses discriminated against minorities. In 1964 he founded Heroes Inc., a nonprofit organization designed to assist and support the widows and children of law enforcement officers and firefighters who give their lives in the line of duty. Doggett also led many projects to rejuvenate the city's poorest neighborhoods, and most recently he was a driving force behind the District's impressive Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

Doggett exerted a highly beneficial influence on the District for more than half a century. Nearly all of Doggett's professional life was spent on and around 10th Street NW - he opened the first above-ground parking garage on 10th, and his mother owned a restaurant there. He served as president of the NPA from 1954-56.

After his funeral, The Washington Post called Doggett "a humble Irishman who became a parking lot magnate and a benefactor, leaving an indelible mark on the region's law enforcement community." Doggett, who was born in the District in 1920, was president and chief executive of Doggett Enterprises, the parent corporation of Doggett's Parking, which was founded by his parents in 1926.

About the NPA: The National Parking Association (NPA) is an international network of member companies comprised of parking industry professionals. NPA's mission is to serve and assist members in identifying and solving the difficulties that arise in their business activities; promote the research and publications necessary to keep the industry abreast of all critical developments affecting parking and parking-related services; enhance the image, public acceptance, and economic progress of the parking industry by means of programs and projects directed to the general public instrumentalities of government and the business community; promote and encourage ethical business practices among the operators of parking facilities, and to instill in public and non-public users of parking services confidence in the integrity and skills of parking operators.