BY ERIC VERNON

Flo Morgan, a native Winnipegger, arrived in Ottawa via Toronto in 1968.  This year, she and husband Joel will celebrate their 60^th anniversary!  Flo taught at Ottawa Modern Jewish School and Akiva High School and supply taught in the public school system. 

Flo would later be “present at creation” for AJA 50+.  One of AJA’s four founding women, Ruth Levitan, once spoke to me about the establishment of AJA 50+ noting that, “There was a vacuum in Jewish Ottawa for seniors programming but we had retired community members with great skill sets eager to volunteer.”  Ms. Levitan called Flo and asked her to be one of those volunteers.  Flo eagerly accepted and became AJA’s registrar at the start-up of the organization. 

“I enjoyed volunteering and was happy to help fill the void for seniors’ programming,” Flo told me.  “Over the years, I worked with wonderful Presidents, Treasurers and Executive Directors and had the opportunity to meet so many great people, including many newcomers to Ottawa”.

From her home, Flo handled the registrations and kept track of all of AJA’s programs, often filling places from waiting lists for over-subscribed activities.  As Flo put it, “AJA 50+ has always offered excellent programs and I was very happy to facilitate our members getting involved. It’s a great place to meet people in a welcoming environment”.

Flo Morgan encourages AJA’s membership to follow her example and offer their services in any way they can.  “It’s the volunteers that really drive the organization”, Flo commented.  “Everybody has something to offer and together we can keep AJA 50+ vital and thriving”.