FROM NEW HOPE ON

This is the catch-up official bio that usually begs for more answers rather than answering questions. Now each of you will have to sit down and write a similar piece. I look forward to hearing your history.

The years away from the West Coast have been busy ones for me. After all it's been over THREE and a half decades! After my third year with New Hope I went with Young American Showcase, based in St Pete. FL, and headed one of their groups, FREE FARE, singing lead and managing, doing a rock 'n roll anti-drug/love-your-brother assembly program and ticketed night concerts. I followed that with four years as singer/Road Manager for a Fifth Dimension-style show band, LIFE, either headlining our own show or opening for people like Bob Hope, Kenny Rodgers, Bill Cosby, Tony Bennett, Smothers Brothers, Dolly Parton, Lena Horne, and dozens of performing artists. I spent 14 years with part-time group called Goodtime Singers, opening act for Tennessee Ernie Ford. LIFE also did assemblies, Vegas, Atlantic City, small and major conventions (McDonalds, PepsiCo, GMC, TWA, etc), and State Fairs. Ex-Spurrlows Stan Morse and Dave Ayers were our arrangers. During that time I met and married my wife Heidi, also a singer with our show group LIFE, and had two daughters. I moved to Florida for almost four years to be vice-president of the highly successful 7Up Gold Coast Concert Series with Justin Smith. We had the first commercially sponsored Contemporary Christian Music series in the country. In the late 80’s and 90’s I co-produced shows for USO shows, Carnival and Dolphin Cruise Lines and theme parks in U.S., Europe, and Japan. Wrote material for park music shows, western shows, gunfights and kids programs. During those years I also booked thousands of school assembly programs for the AEP (American Entertainment Productions) road shows. I had to have the phone surgically removed!
In the 90’s I was Recruiting and Talent Director of American Entertainment Productions, auditioning nationally 600-700 performers a year (singers, dancers, and actors) for cruise ships (Carnival among them), theme parks, and Business Theater shows. We produced a large convention each year for Kraftmaid, fronting their headliners with a troop of singers and dancers. We opened for Tom Jones, Kenny Rogers, Beach Boys, Dick Clark's Rock Show, Kenny Loggins, Ben Vareen, and ... anyway…you get the picture. We had some very successful years. Back about 1995, we started noticing a trend as the small parks were selling to Premier Parks, who eventually bought Six Flags, and eliminating the independent producer, us. Also Carnival was building bigger and better ships and taking away the smaller ones we were producing on, replacing us with themselves. All of a sudden we were down to nothing. I left at the end of September 1997, after finishing off a summer with a hotel show in the Catskills and a show for The Scotia Prince, a cruise ship running from Maine to Nova Scotia. I was the last employee to go, and after two filler jobs I was hired in July of 1998 here at my own church.

During the 90’s the girls grew, thanks to Heidi, into lovely Christian ladies. They went to Bible College at Word of Life Bible Institute, Samantha went for two years and met her man, and Tabitha just one. (Yes...Samantha and Tabitha from THAT show) Sam (31 now) was great about everything. Her and Quinn live in Grand Rapids and have three girls, 7and 5 and 3, and Captain Jack, 1.
Tab (30) married in April 05 to Matt Dyer. He’s a degreed artist working to establish a photography business. Tab is a medical writer for a dermatologist. They live here in Columbus.

Heidi had established a home cleaning service and then worked with Weight Watchers as a leader for a few years. She had just gone on staff as a full-time recruiter of leaders when we bought a large house and moved her Mom and Dad in with us (Sep 99) Within weeks her Mom’s heart problems worsened and in five months she died. Heidi was her primary care giver during all that time and decided not to go back to work for Weight Watchers. Her Dad lived with us for another 8 years before passing in 2007.
She reestablished her cleaning service and also has a catering business that does a few things each year. She is personality plus and the love of my life! Her current job is Wedding Administrator at our church.

My job here at the church came out of left field. I was originally hired to be on the Media Team, selling the books, tapes, CD’s, back up tapes, arrangements, that our people create to other churches and ministries. You know…attending the music conventions and Christian publishing events as well as spending time on the phone talking to music directors all over the country. I had no sooner settled in my cubicle than the Music/Media Director called me in and said the Copy Center Supervisor gave a short notice and by the way did I know anything about printing. The short version of this story is that once I was established here I never looked back. They were able to match the money I would have made in the cubicle and I really liked the freedom here. Set my own hours, be a self-starter, help pull peoples feet out of the fire, etc. I run four machines that have a yearly volume of just over 2.5 million. I supervise the other 7 machines in other locations of the church and schools. I also handle all the mail, bulk mail, UPS, and inter-office stuff. The church and school combined have 210 employees and I print for all of them. Teachers, staff, administrators, ministries, etc. I have full benefits, retirement, investment opportunities, two weeks vacation a year, the works. Man…I was so tired of the phone, and trouble shooting, and putting out fires. It sounds crazy, after my lifestyle, but this works for me. It’s a people pleasing position and I love it. And I can listen to music all day, any kind of music.

I’ve gained a few pounds over the years, but who of us hasn't. I like to think I have aged gracefully. My knees are not great so I don’t play much basketball anymore. Did you ever try to shoot a jump shot without jumping? I write for fun, both poetry and memoirs, but I have two partially developed novels locked away too. The memoirs are called respectively GAS FOOD LODGING next Exit, about my road adventures, and (They call it) Wanderlust), about moving 30 times in 62 years. (and that doesn't include my 8 years on the road)

Another thing I enjoy is finding folks on the internet. I've tracked quite a number of people I traveled with, including half of the original Continentals from 1963-65! I’m now working on other people I traveled with.

Heidi and I are both in our choir (120 voices) and recording ensemble at Grace Brethren Church of Columbus, OH, and we are involved in a small couples Bible study. Heidi does solo work and is on the worship team. I am very active in Grace Veterans. The five couples in the Bible study are our extended family. We love them.

Well…this is turning into a novel. We could add a couple car chases, explosions, and some gratuitous sex and sell this baby as a blockbuster.
I’ve been dwelling on my side of these lost decades but would love to hear of your life. What’s up?

Enough for now…..

Your old tour friend,
Wes Turner