Vicki Morgan
By Lauren Heaton

Victoria Neff Morgan ’66 – Antioch graduate, long-time villager, entrepreneur and Antioch’s Honorary Sesquicentennial Chairperson – is a fast talker. She talks fast and she moves fast, and if you blink you might miss her. She gets things done, and the trail she leaves behind her is marked by her ability to harness a bunch of disparate ideas to create something amazing. “I’m a doer and an opportunist; it comes from my Antioch education,” Vicki says of herself.

Antioch has had an ineffable impact on the community in its 150 years, and Morgan is one alumna who embodies the school’s core philosophy. After graduating from Antioch, she became an intrinsic part of the leadership that matured and deepened the roots of the Yellow Springs community.

As a student at Antioch in the early 60s, Morgan made meaningful inroads to the Village by babysitting for local families to make money. When she decided she wanted to major in education she co-oped and student taught at the Antioch School and Mills Lawn, developing still deeper ties. Then, in her last semester, she met and got engaged to Lee Morgan ’66. Lee had grown up in Yellow Springs so they decided to continue to live in town.

The couple moved into the house just next door to where Lee grew up. It just seemed logical, she said, to continue to be involved in the business and civic life of Yellow Springs. Morgan began by teaching English as a foreign language at Antioch and soon got involved with the Glen Helen board, the Antioch alumni board and the capital campaigns at the College.

When their children, Asha and Matthew, began attending the local schools Morgan became an active parent in the administration and support of school events and extracurricular activities. She was a board member of the Yellow Springs Community Foundation for 15 years, nine of them as the president, during the time when the organization reached $1 million in assets. She was very proud of that effort, she said.

In the mid 80s, when it looked like the school district might be in danger of losing its exempted status, Morgan partnered with local resident Phyllis Schmidt as a public relations consultant for the Village to attract more families with young children to the town. The effort was successful in that it reduced the elements impeding development and enabled several developers to build homes that young families could buy. “Vicki is enormously creative and imaginative, and she is also extremely determined,” Schmidt said. “A lot of people can brainstorm, but the thing she does so well is having an idea and making it happen.”

Morgan’s attributes translated into the business world when the family business, The Antioch Company, expanded into St. Cloud, Minnesota near a bankrupt photo album manufacturer. When the company made the initiative to turn photo preservation into a direct sales business in 1987, Morgan took the idea and turned it into the now international enterprise known as Creative Memories, which is the largest single profitable division in the multi-million dollar company.

Morgan’s former colleague watched her do it. “Vicki started with the Creative Memories thing when it was barely an idea and gave it her enthusiasm and made it into the top echelons of the company,” Schmidt said. “Whatever she’s accomplished she’s earned on her own. She’s very proud of her success, and she should be.”

Morgan started out as one of the first six consultants in the country, going into people’s homes and teaching them the possibilities involved in preserving a moment in history with a photo. She reached out to library organizations, church clubs, and civic groups all over southwestern Ohio, helping people understand that it only takes a generation to lose the stories of the past.

Today there are almost 80,000 independent Creative Memories consultants in the country, and Morgan is the senior executive director for product development and consultant support. But the Morgans keep their feet planted firmly on the ground, and on any given day they could easily be seen eating lunch at the local Subway with a company worker.

Donna Haller, who works with Creative Memories in Yellow Springs, says, “I could ask Vicki for just about anything and she would probably help me get it done. She’s very generous and very trusting.”

Recently Morgan decided to take a small step back from her company role to become the kind of grandmother that her daughter’s young baby won’t necessarily need a photo to remember. But she keeps a cell phone nearby and works when the baby is sleeping. She is intensely dedicated to her commitments and tireless in giving toward the pursuits she deems valuable. And she credits her time at Antioch and the Morgan community values with teaching her to juggle it all while maintaining a balance.

Morgan has recently become franchise co-owner of a Curves gym in Yellow Springs. Morgan first became aware of Curves when a friend invited her to one in Minnesota. She began pursuing a Yellow Springs branch shortly after and is now part of the second fastest growing franchise in America. Morgan is always working hard and looking for new ideas. Her efforts continue to shape the community that surrounds her.

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