Mickey Starling
reporter3@greenepublishing.com
Terri Turner, more affectionately remembered as Annette Pickles to those who grew up with her in Madison County, has had an extraordinary life and career since graduating from Madison High School in 1980. Turner had a desire to expand her wings and see more of the world, so college seemed like the place to start that journey. Yet, her family was concerned about her flying away too soon, so they asked her to attend North Florida Junior College, in Madison, for one year before trying a large university.
This plan did not set well with Turner, who asked her dad, Harvey Pickles, if she could join the United States Army instead of attending the local college. Pickles thought she was bluffing, so he agreed to the idea. Within days, Turner presented enlistment papers for her dad to sign and away she flew. After enlisting, Turner completed basic training and A.I.T. at Ft. Jackson, in South Carolina. She was later stationed at Ft. Riley, in Kansas. Shortly before discharging, Turner was awarded the Army Commendation Medal in 1983.
As a civilian, Turner soon embarked upon a career in Federal service, first with the General Services Administration, at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, in Abilene, Kan. While there, Turner had the opportunity to meet former CBS News anchor, Walter Cronkite. The bulk of her career was spent at the Malcolm Randall Veterans Administration Medical Center (V.A.M.C.), in Gainesville, Fla., where she was employed from 1987 until 2015. She began working as a Clerk Typist and concluded as a Transition Patient Advocate. While in Gainesville, Turner was recognized as the Veterans Administration Employee of the Year in 2013. She also served with Post 16 of the American Legion as the 2nd Vice Commander.
Later, she served as the Patient Advocate for the Fayetteville, N.C. V.A.M.C. for two years. Her next big move was to the newly constructed Orlando V.A.M.C. in February of 2018. There, she served as the Veteran Experience Office Manager. Her devoted service earned her the local Rotary Club's Community Service Award in 2018. An added bonus to her job was getting to meet various celebrities who stopped by to show their support for veterans. Among those were Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, with the rock band, KISS. The group was at the height of its popularity during Turner's teen years.
Never one to slow down, Turner also served as a volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House, in Orlando, for five years, as well as serving as the chairperson of the Board of Directors for the Lake Nona Chamber of Commerce. She retired in June of 2022 and is off to her next adventure. She and her husband, Sean Turner, are moving to St. Petersburg, Fla., where they will certainly be active in making that community a better place to live.