HOPE – A lady who has worn more hats than she can recall was honored May 17 in a retirement reception at Yerger Middle School for a career in the Hope Public Schools that spanned more than 40 years.\r\n
\r\nBetty Turner was feted by friends, family, teachers, former principals, former YMS students, and the Yerger Alumni Association in a gathering of some 100 people in the YMS library.\r\n
\r\nYMS Principal Josclyn Wiley said she was perplexed about what to do without Turner.\r\n
\r\n“She is simply a jewel,” Wiley said. “She has been my rock, and my guardian from the public sometimes. I can’t remember all the times she would come into my office and say, ‘Do you want to see….?”\r\n
\r\nShe noted that Turner is retiring at her own pace.\r\n
\r\n“Her desk will still be here anytime she wants to use it,” Wiley said. “I have been blessed with having her here.”\r\n
\r\nTurner recalled that she started her career with the HPSD as an office professional at Hope High School.\r\n
\r\n“But, I did more than work in the office,” she said. “Wherever they needed me, that’s where I went.”\r\n
\r\nDuring her tenure she has served as the girls’ high school pep squad sponsor, as well as an intramural basketball coach.\r\n
\r\nShe was also a “calendar girl,” according to Hope attorney Mark Gunter.\r\n
\r\n“We were trying to raise money to support our troops,” Gunter recalled.\r\n
\r\nHe said he sought volunteers to pose for the fundraiser and Turner was readily available.\r\n
\r\nShe posed in western wear, Gunter said, as he presented her a poster made from the calendar.\r\n
\r\n“She was December,” he said.\r\n
\r\nTurner said her decision to begin working in the public schools was a natural fit.\r\n
\r\n“My children were all in school; so, we went to school together and came home together,” she said.\r\n
\r\nMary White, representing the Yerger High School Alumni Association, said Turner was not going to sit at home.\r\n
\r\n“She is going to work and we are opening the museum,” White said, referring to the Yerger High School Museum adjacent to the YMS campus.\r\n
\r\nShe said Turner has been an important influence for the Yerger High School Reunion organization.\r\n
\r\n“She has been a big part of keeping the Yerger legacy alive,” White said.\r\n
\r\nFormer YMS Principal Larry Muldrew characterized Turner as steadfast.\r\n
\r\n“She always told me, ‘I’ll stay one more year;’ and, I’m the one who went,” Muldrew quipped.\r\n
