She is the third person to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Contemporaries, the club that raises money and puts on programs for Temple’s Cultural Activities Center.
“And I am very surprised and honored,” Mrs. Turner said. “But the real privilege is to work with the wonderful, energetic ladies in the club.”
Kathryn Hermans, 2008-09 club president, announced the award May 20 at the club’s end-of-year luncheon, but Mrs. Turner was unable to attend.
“So I didn’t even know I had won until a week or so ago,” Mrs. Turner said.
Lajuana Carabasi and Juana Mari Ethridge, brought the award to Mrs. Turner’s home under the pretext of a lunch date.
“It was such a surprise,” Mrs. Turner said. “They brought me a delicious lunch, a beautiful rose and the lovely award plaque.”
When she saw her Lifetime Achievement Award, Mrs. Turner said she was grateful but humbled.
“They don’t give this award out very often,” Mrs. Turner said. “There’ve only been two other recipients, and they were great women, great volunteers. It’s an honor even to be thought of along with them.”
Mrs. Carabasi was the first recipient of the Contemporaries Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.
“We started the award that year because we wanted a way to honor club members who had contributed a lot over the years,” said Hilde Cort. Mrs. Carabasi, Mrs. Cort said, helped start both the CAC in 1958 the Contemporaries in 1969.
The late Sally DiGaetano was the second recipient in 2007.
“It was awarded posthumously,” Mrs. Cort said. “She died the year before, but she had done so much for the Contemporaries and the CAC that we wanted to honor her.”
And when this year rolled around, Mrs. Cort decided it was again time to honor a longtime club member.
“So I nominated (Mrs. Turner),” Mrs. Cort said. “She’s very deserving and does absolutely any job that’s needed. It’s a way to say thanks, and I think it means a lot more to honor these ladies while they’re still alive.”
Mrs. Turner has been a member of the Contemporaries for more than a decade.
She has sold items at the annual Bow-tique, addressed and mailed monthly newsletters -and for the past two years, she has sold the most chance tickets for the club’s winter gala.
She’s also managed the Contemporaries’ rental closet - a stash of furniture, party items, decorations and costumes that the club rents to the public. Like the other fundraisers, these proceeds benefit the CAC.
“It was a fun job, but it was work,” Mrs. Turner said. “You had to go all over town and keep up with all the items.”
Mrs. Carabasi said Mrs. Turner was great at it.
“She took charge of everything,” Mrs. Carabasi said. “She’s very dependable when it comes to high-pressure jobs.”
Mrs. Turner is a retired educator, so she knows how to relate to children - and that’s handy at the club’s Hands-On program, the annual activity that teaches children about the cultures of different countries and regions.
“I love working on that,” Mrs. Turner said. “Its tells about the history, art and music of each place.”
She also helps with the arts education program.
“Every year about 400 school children come to the CAC to see a different art group that’s on tour,” Mrs. Turner said. “And I’m a docent who helps them go from the bus to the auditorium and back to the bus.”
But those are just her routine duties with the Contemporaries. On occasion, she’s a saleswoman for the club.
“The Contemporaries gets willed different items by different people,” Mrs. Turner said. “They get sold, and the money goes to the CAC.”
Through the sale of some bequeathed jewelry and a chest of silver, Mrs. Turner has earned the group thousands of dollars.
“I work hard to get full money for the items,” said Mrs. Turner.
Working hard seems to be her second nature.
“She has dedicated her life to the service of others in a quiet and unassuming manner,” said JoAnn Leibowitz, incoming Contemporaries president. “She always puts the task at hand before her own personal needs, and she always wants the best for everyone.”
