Chris Jones: Greene Publishing, Inc.
Madison County native Teresa (Terri) Turner is the new manager of Orlando's Fisher House. Fisher Houses provide lodging for comfort providers of veterans being treated by Veteran's Affairs (VA)
hospitals. The Orlando Fisher House is projected to complete construction in November 2017, and see its first guest the following month. It is a 16-bed accessible facility, with a small library, patio, and family room. Guests of the Fisher House stay free of charge, as long as their loved one is being treated in the adjacent VA facility. Turner has worked for the VA for 33 years.
Turner is the daughter of lifelong Lee residents Harvey and Maude Pickles. She has two brothers, Glen and Curtis; and a sister, Teena Spikes. After she graduated from Madison High School in 1980, Turner (then Pickles) joined the Army. She attended basic training at Fort Jackson, in Columbia, SC. She completed one enlistment, being stationed at Fort Riley, Ks. for three years, where she was an Administrative Specialist. She did not re-enlist because she knew that she wanted to begin a career with the federal government, as a civilian.
Turner is a VHA Certified Mentor at the resident level and a graduate of the Cumberland County Institute for Community Leadership. She is a member of American Legion Post 10 in Kissimmee and has previously served as Second Vice-Commander and District Four Sergeant-at-arms. Turner is passionate about veteran's causes. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, golfing, and watching University of Florida sports. She has two sons, Zachary and Nicholas, with her husband Sean. She tries to visit her parents at least once a month in Lee, and enjoys swapping the dense urban landscape of Orlando for the slower rural pace of Madison County.