Donor Spotlight: Joan and Doug McLeod

This week it is an honor and a pleasure to feature Old 300 lifetime members of The Bryan Museum, Joan and Doug McLeod. The McLeods have been supporting the Museum since hearing that its founders are their old friends, J.P. and Mary Jon Bryan, and that it would be in their beloved hometown of Galveston.

Doug McLeod is a lifelong Galvestonian, an attorney-at-law, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Moody Gardens, Inc. After serving honorably in the U.S. Marines, Doug began his career with the Moody Interests in summer jobs during his college years.  He was an elected official for 14 years, first as member and President of the Galveston I.S.D. (public school) Board, then as Mayor Pro-Tem and City Councilman, and also as three-term member of the Texas House of Representatives.  Doug serves on a number of corporate and civic boards of directors including American National Insurance Company, Anrem Corporation, National Western Life Insurance Company, Independent County Mutual Insurance Company of Texas, The Colonel Museum, Inc., the Advisory Board of Bay Area Boy Scouts, and the Executive Committee of the Knights of Momus (the “krewe” which is the major underwriter and organizer of Galveston’s annual Mardi Gras).  He is also a former member of the Board of Trustees, Executive Committee, and Chairman of the Audit Committee of South Texas College of Law.

Doug has been honored with the Galveston Chamber of Commerce “Citizen of the Year” distinguished service award, inducted into Ball High School’s Wall of Fame as a former letterman, honored as “Tau Man” -Texas Kappa Sigma of the Year, received the 2010 UNT Green Glory Award, and in 2012, the annual George P. Mitchell Mardi Gras Award and the Boy Scouts of America Golden Eagle Award.  His degrees include a B.B.A., a Doctor of Jurisprudence, and an LL.M. in International Economic Law, and he serves on the board of Currents, an international trade law journal.  He and his wife Joan, a Fort Bend County rancher, have five daughters and a son, three of whom are also attorneys. The McLeods are active in Houston as well as Galveston endeavors and maintain residences in Houston and at the historic Williams Ranch in nearby Richmond, Texas.

Joan Williams McLeod, a fourth generation Ft. Bend County rancher and real estate developer and broker, has called Galveston Island her home for more than fifty years.  After graduating from St. Stephen’s Episcopal School and U.T. and following in the footsteps of her Richmond, Texas parents, Joan quickly became a civic leader in her new hometown. Managing the Williams Ranch and a blend of daughters and grandchildren, she was active in the Galveston County Junior League, holding many positions, and thereafter being named twice as Sustainer of the Year. Her other avenues of service include chairing events for the restoration of the Grand 1894 Opera House, the D.A.R. and D.R.T., Trinity Episcopal School and Church, Ashton Villa, Camp Mystic, Kappa Kappa Gamma Alumni Club, Damas De Galvez, Legislative Women’s Club, Galveston’s Sesquicentennial, Cedar Lawn Association, Galveston Artillery Club and many others.  She has served numerous years on both the Friends of The Texas Historical Commission and the Board of Directors of the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum.  Joan, fluent in Spanish and renowned for being a highly successful businesswoman, rarely takes credit for all the work that she does. She is exceptionally proud, however, of being the Royalty Trustee for the Knights of Momus Mardi Gras krewe; and for more than 35 years, Joan has recruited hundreds of duchesses from prominent Texas families to be presented at K.O.M.’s Mardi Gras.  Now that, she will tell you about!

Doug states that in 2013, the McLeod Family first heard the wonderful news that J. P. and Mary Jon Bryan had purchased the historic Galveston Orphans Home to develop a Texas history Museum of the highest order. Doug first met J. P. during U.T. fraternity rush in 1959 and recalled that he was extraordinarily sharp, while Joan attended St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin, as did J. P. Knowing the Bryans, they had great expectations that the Museum would succeed. When the Bryan Museum opened in 2015, the McLeods were so appreciative of what J. P. and Mary Jon had done for Galveston, they embraced the Museum as one of their favorite charitable entities. Doug and Joan believe that generations of Texas schoolchildren will especially benefit from their visits to The Bryan Museum.

We are in awe of all the wonderful contributions the McLeods have made and continue to make to our local community and throughout Texas. We are grateful that they have found time in their busy lives to embrace the Museum and our mission by supporting us as patrons, donors, and dear friends. We hope that you will consider doing the same!