2020 recipient of the Margaret Griffiths Award
Soon after attending a Council on Aging seminar titled Shifting Gears, organized by the Ottawa Seniors Transportation Committee (OSTC) in 2014, Louise joined this active volunteer committee.
OSTC was divided into several sub-committees that represented different areas of interest to Ottawa seniors including; Rural Transportation, Public Transit, Hospital Parking, Pedestrian Safety, Older Drivers and Community Information. Representatives from several city and community organizations volunteered their time to advocate for positive change to transportation issues affecting seniors and those with mobility challenges.
As a bilingual occupational therapist, Louise brought important knowledge, professionalism and a keen interest in reaching out to the senior community across Ottawa. Her special interest has been in promoting practical programs, and providing important information to improve driving safety. With an aging demographic and driving as the major form of transportation for many older adults, she found an important niche and created an excellent program.
She agreed to chair the Older Drivers sub-committee in 2015. Since that time, she has worked hard to bring the 55-Alive program to many seniors and has become the first person to be certified to provide this program in French in the Ottawa area. Her passion was instrumental to the launching of the local CarFit initiative which has been active for the past two years. Louise has become well known in the community for her ability to collaborate with a wide range of city and community organizations and is greatly respected amongst volunteers because of her caring and supporting nature and her ability to organize and lead events. These relationships have been a tremendous asset in bringing current information and practical driving tips to older drivers across Ottawa through brochures, a series of driving tips for older adults and numerous community educational events.
Over the
past number of years, Louise has made an incredible contribution to the
community in the field of road safety for older adults. The Council on Aging is
delighted to name Louise Brunelle as the recipient of the 2020 Margaret
Griffiths Award.
