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Volunteer Spotlight Luther Turner
Written By: Jenny King | Issue: 2017/10 - October | Photograph By: Marjorie Christiansen Photography
The Rotary Club of Highlands has many members who could easily be featured in this month’s volunteer article; but when asked, President Hank Ross had no hesitation in suggesting Luther Turner.
Turner, who at one time has volunteered for just about everything in Highlands.
Luther and his wife Ann, who live in Horse Cove, are an integral thread in the tapestry of Highlands’ history. Turner’s family was one of the first who settled in Horse Cove in the 1830s. His great-great-grandfather, Stanhope W. Hill, was the first mayor of Highlands and his grandmother, Helen Hill Norris, wrote several books about the area.
Luther and Ann made Highlands their full time home after he retired and he immediately immersed himself in philanthropic works. Turner says he came to Rotary rather late in life, the Rotary Club of Highlands being his first experience; but he is one of the most active members there, according to Ross. One of his first duties was to manage the Youth Exchange Program. Later he became manager of the programs for Rotary meetings under the leadership of Jodi Cook who was the club’s president at the time.
Most recently he participated in the club’s Fourth of July Barbecue, the Twilight 5K, and you’ll find him directing traffic for the annual Highlands Halloween event later this month. He also enjoys volunteering at the Rotary Community Dinners.
Anyone who knows Luther and Ann know what a vital part of the community they are. Luther laughs as he says, “I’m one of only two male members of The Mountain Garden Club. Wiley Sloan and I get to do all the manual labor for their plant sale in May.” He is active in his church, The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, and volunteers at the Highlands-Cashiers Hospital where he is a past board member. He is a member and past president of the Highlands Historical Society and served on the board of The Hudson Library. He has also participated in the Meals on Wheels program and acted as Transportation Chair for The Bascom’s Mountains in Bloom for several years.
If you have an opportunity to speak with Luther you’ll be educated, entertained, and enlightened about our area and its history, and who knows, he may even talk you into joining Highlands Rotary Club.
