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National award for North East civil engineer

A leading North East civil engineer has been presented with an award for his dedication and service to the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).

John Jeffrey MBE, who is a past Chairman of the ICE’s North East region, has received the prestigious Garth Watson Medal for his work as a volunteer for the Institution, which works to promote civil engineering knowledge and careers.

A former health and safety manager at Colas and senior engineer at Fairhurst & Partners, John was presented with the medal at the ICE Awards Ceremony at the Institution’s head office, at One Great George Street, London. The medal is presented in memory of Garth Watson, a past secretary of the Institution.

John, from Cramlington, said: “It was a great honour to be the recipient of this prestigious award and particularly so as I knew Garth Watson and worked with him in getting the ICE Graduates and Students National Committee established in the ’70s.”

John started his involvement with ICE in 1965, becoming a chartered civil engineer in 1973, and spent a considerable amount of his career as a resident engineer working for consultants and contractors across the UK.

He was regional chairman in 2006/7 and again in 2012 and is the former chairman of the national ICE Health and Safety Expert Panel. An Honorary Secretary of ICE’s Northern Counties Association for more than 10 years, John has been organiser of the Institution’s Annual Dinner for almost three decades.

He has also been involved in a national capacity within ICE, having held a number of roles. In 1995, John was awarded the MBE for services to civil engineering.

Professor David Toll, Chairman of ICE North East, said: “John’s dedication to the Institution of Civil Engineers over the last five decades makes him a hugely worthy winner of the Garth Watson Medal. He was awarded the medal against some very strong competition from across the country, from people who have worked tirelessly on behalf of the Institution, and this illustrates the esteem in which John and his work is held.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Penny Marshall .