John M. Turner
Awarded: Distinguished Public Service Award
Authorized by the 39th Executive Council and presented by Councilor Sam O. Leake Jr. on February 24, 2018, at the Mikell & Walsh Court of Honor, Crescent Club, Dallas Texas
Chairman, Commission on the Blind, State of Texas
John Milton Turner (Gamma Lambda–North Texas ’55) was honored with Kappa Alpha Order’s Award for Distinguished Public Service for his more than 30 years of advocacy and service to visually impaired people.
John lost his eyesight at the early age of seventeen. But with his motto, “blindness is an inconvenience, not a handicap,” he built a successful career in business.
He was appointed by six Governors to serve more than three decades on the Texas Commission for the Blind, was a director for the Board of Dallas Lighthouse for the Blind, and served seventeen years as a Trustee of The Seeing Eye of Morristown, New Jersey.