The Kiwanis Club of La Cañada has chosen Sheri Morton as La Cañadan of the Year for 2022 in recognition of her decades of exemplary volunteer service.
Since 1951, the award has been presented to an individual or couple for outstanding leadership and broad-based service that has enhanced the La Cañada Flintridge community.
Morton will be honored at a luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 19, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Recreation Hall, 1830 Foothill Blvd.
“We are thrilled to acknowledge Sheri’s countless hours of volunteer service that she has done over the years,” said La Cañadan of the Year committee chair Terry Piasky. “We look forward to bringing the public together to honor and thank her for her selfless contributions, which have benefited so many in the foothills community.”
Morton moved to LCF in 1957, attended local schools and was in the first graduating class at La Cañada High School. She attended Pasadena City College and graduated from California State College, Los Angeles, where she obtained her teaching credentials.
Morton taught in the Glendale Unified School District where, she fondly recalls, “my teaching career was rich and varied!”
Her teaching purview included English, yearbook, English as a second language, coaching sports, being in charge of the computer lab, and more. While she was teaching, Morton also earned her master’s degree in education from Cal State L.A. She was a recipient of a fellowship from the UCLA Writing Project where, at a workshop, she met her future husband, David. They were married in 1990, and in 1996 their daughter, Maggie, was born.
After a 30-year career in education, Morton retired to assist her mother — and is following in her mother’s footsteps in giving back to the community. In 1990, she was a charter member of the Cañada Auxiliary of Professionals and Auxiliary of Assistance League of Flintridge.
Morton joined the La Cañada Thursday Club, where her daughter became a Les Fleurette debutante, as a tribute to her mother, a past member. She has held multiple positions in the club and is currently the 2022-2023 president, having also served as president from 2016-18.
As deacon at La Cañada Presbyterian Church, Morton served on the church’s Senior Ministry Task Force, developing a senior resources guidebook. She has overseen the Red Cross blood drive. For than 15 years, she has cooked for more than 100 retired church members at the semiannual Anchor luncheon.
After attending the Red Cross “Map Your Neighborhood” program, she and several neighbors organized a
disaster plan for the 50 houses on their street. What started as disaster preparedness has turned into an annual block party rekindling friendships.
Morton is currently on the La Cañada Flintridge Sister Cities Association Board of Directors, which cultivates LCF’s relationship with sister city Villanueva de la Cañada, Spain, igniting friendships around the world and launching far-reaching youth programs.
Her volunteerism is not limited to LCF. Morton also serves on the Fine Arts Club of Pasadena Board of Directors, which supports the arts and artists of our community and its environs by encouraging the creation, execution and appreciation of work in all branches of the fine arts.
Always on the lookout to help others, Morton thrives at volunteer work in the community she loves.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the luncheon celebration. Tickets are $50 and may be purchased by visiting lacanadakiwanis.org and clicking on the La Cañadan of the Year tab. Tickets may also be purchased by mailing a check to Kiwanis Club of La Cañada — La Cañadan of the Year, P.O. Box 33, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91012. Be sure to include your name, email, contact phone, and the name of any guest(s). The deadline to reserve tickets is April 12. For additional information, call (818) 568-6411 and leave a message, or email lacanadakiwanis@gmail.com for a response from a club member.
—–
La Cañadan of the Year
Presented by Kiwanis Club since 1951
2022 Sheri Morton
2021 Michael Davitt
2020 Greg Brown
2019 Harriet Hammons
2018 Vicki Schwartz
2017 Mike Leininger
2016 Jeanne Broberg
2015 Donald Voss
2014 Martha Burns
2013 Pat Anderson
2012 Nick Berkuta
2011 Terry Walker
2010 Clyde Hemphill
2009 Laura Olhasso
2008 Tom & Meredith Reynolds
2007 Mary Gant
2006 Richard Harris
2005 Anthony Portantino
2004 Joe Thompson
2003 Sherrill Carbonetti
2002 Gaylord Hammerwold
2001 Eileen Ferber
2000 Don & Shirley Hingst
1999 Wes Seastrom
1998 Joy Gifford
1997 Claire Slaughter
1996 Joan Freehan
1995 Ken and Sue Schechter
1994 David & Alice Spence
1993 Neal & Molly Brockmeyer
1992 Dr. Joel Smith
1991 Warren Gannon
1990 Jack & Mary Hastings
1989 Dr. Richard & Mary Alice Green
1988 Robert & Elizabeth Craven
1987 D. Sidney & Jean McVicker
1986 Kent Frewing
1985 Joseph L. DuPlain
1984 David & Shirley Herrman
1983 Dick & Shirley DeGrey
1982 Warren & Mary Ellen Hillgren
1981 Roger & Nila Barkley
1980 Joan Bachman
1979 Dr. Donald C. Ziehl
1978 Edmund J. Krause
1977 Jeanne Maus
1976 George L. Parrish
1975 Rev. Gary W. Demarest
1974 Beth Leonhard
1973 Dr. George Griffith
1972 Dr. Bill & May Brown
1970 Henry Swenerton
1969 Jane R. Hogle
1968 Richard Keilholtz
1967 Dr. William Pickering
1966 Gil Smith
1965 Dr. Samuel Ayres
1964 Les Tupper
1963 Jack Samuelson
1962 Ellen Ellis
1961 Jim Reynolds
1960 Buzzie Bavasi
1959 Robert Parks
1954 Frank Lanterman
1951 Ted Shroeder
First published in the April 6 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
