Thirty-seven years. Twice the time the members of the senior class have been alive. That’s how long Equipment Manager Ron Turner has served the school. In those nearly four decades on campus, Turner has remained a constant beacon of wisdom and dedication as he continues to guide thousands of young Marksmen in their journey from adolescence to manhood.
Turner began his time at the school not as the equipment manager but as the printer. Before long, he became involved in a multitude of roles around campus. From mailroom operator to textbook distributor to clerical supervisor to student store associate, Turner brought his same devout work ethic to all of these jobs, often going unnoticed by the community.
“I had those four jobs and I was coaching JV basketball, so I did that until the year 2000 when they created an equipment manager position,” Turner said. “I love sports and love athletics. The rest is history.”
As the equipment manager, Turner possesses numerous responsibilities: manage the uniforms for every almost every sport, keep a tight inventory of all the athletic equipment and make sure that all helmets and school issued pads are up to date and safe for players, among many other unseen tasks. Turner also appreciates other aspects of the position.
“As equipment manager, it allows me to interact with students,” Turner said. “In the earlier positions, I was more or less interacting with faculty and staff only, not able to see a lot of the guys.”
Turner’s effect on the school has certainly been felt, so much so that in 2022, he was presented with the prestigious Booker Kilgore Award by the Athletic Equipment Manager Association (AEMA). Every year, the AEMA recognizes an equipment manager who best exemplifies the character and service of the late Booker Kilgore, who, like Turner, dedicated more than three decades of his life to the passionate service of his school.
Through his recognition and advocacy, Turner has helped high school equipment managers to gain a closer relationship with the AEMA. Another one of Turner’s greatest accomplishments came during the pandemic.
“Back in March of 2020 during COVID, I coordinated with all of the high school equipment managers via Zoom to to keep our attitudes up and keep motivated because we weren’t on campus,” Turner said. “Some people were losing their jobs, and we were just trying to figure out what we could do on the side for our schools to keep our jobs and just keep going.”
Because of Turner’s efforts, he and other equipment managers around the nation have met on Zoom every Tuesday for the last five years, forging deep and lasting friendships along the way.
“We’ve cried together and we’ve laughed together,” Turner said. “And we’ve all grown to be a big family,”
Currently, besides his duties as equipment manager, Turner also coaches Middle School tennis where he strives to instill positive character traits in his players on and off the court.
“Tennis gives me an opportunity to interact with seventh and eighth graders, and I can kind of work and learn from them, and they can learn from me,” Turner said. “A lot of guys that play tennis have never played team tennis, so I’m there to help them be a team player, show them their role, and help them support each other.”
As a tennis coach, Turner works hard to promote achievement among his players on and off the court. This effort certainly does not go unnoticed.
Juniors Aryaman Lahoti and Andrew Zierk recall Turner’s tremendous leadership skills during their 8th grade season, in which the team went undefeated.
“Coach Turner pushed us to our limits and brought out the best in us,” Lahoti said. “He really inspired me to seek my full potential in all aspects of life,” Zierk added.
Thirty-seven years is a staggering amount of time. And reflecting on all his days here, Turner feels nothing but immense gratitude and honor to help foster generations of men he believes truly embody the school’s motto of courage and honor.
“St. Mark’s is great, and I love what I do,” Turner said. “I love working with the guys. I love seeing the guys develop into strong young men, so I just want to continue to do what I can to help.”