Steve Turner, known for his philanthropic work in Nashville as well as his visionary development projects, has died at the age of 77.
Civic engagement was a lifelong passion and pursuit for Steve Turner, the longtime former board chair for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, who died on Feb. 11 at age 77.
Born in the small Kentucky town of Scottsville, Turner grew up working in the family business, the Dollar General Corporation, founded by his father, Cal Turner Sr. After serving as an executive for 20 years with Dollar General, Steve Turner left the company at age 40 to go his own way. A graduate of Vanderbilt University, he settled in Nashville in 1986 with wife Judy and focused on investing and real estate development, particularly in Nashville’s urban core. Developments that he spearheaded south of Broadway, including the Gulch, the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, turned forlorn and derelict areas into the bustling city attractions of today.
The Turners generously supported many philanthropic causes in Nashville, but Steve Turner’s engagement with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum was transformative. He joined the museum’s board in 1997 and then served as chairman from 2008 through 2021. His leadership and vision proved crucial in turning around the museum’s fortunes.
Turner shrewdly negotiated a complicated public-private partnership involving the museum, Metro Nashville government and the Omni Hotels & Resorts. The result more than doubled the museum’s size, connected the Omni Hotel Nashville with the museum through a stylish shopping corridor, and helped the city anchor the new Music City Center convention hall, which opened in 2013.
At the same time, Turner demonstrated crucial leadership in the museum’s capital campaign that enabled the expansion. He brought in funders and closed deals that the museum had to have. Thanks to successful fundraising and careful financial stewardship, the museum erased its building debts and markedly expanded its programming. With the museum’s newfound financial stability, Turner pushed the organization to offer Middle Tennessee youth free admission under a new program, Community Counts. He and wife Judy also conceived and funded an innovative partnership between the museum and the Nashville Public Library resulting in “String City: Nashville’s Tradition of Music and Puppetry,” an acclaimed puppet show that tells the story of country music and has played to thousands of families, children and adults in Middle Tennessee.
“Steve Turner’s leadership and vision changed Nashville in many ways. But nowhere was his influence more transformative than with our museum. As a longtime board chairman, he saw what our museum should be, what it aspired to be — and made it so. He found new opportunities for us, forged crucial deals, and spearheaded a museum expansion in 2014 that more than doubled our size and multiplied our reach exponentially. He was a businessman with the soul of a creative artist and the heart of a champion. Simply put, he inspired us and made our museum the success it is today,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Musuem.
Through all of his accomplishments, Steve Turner demonstrated two common themes: service above self and strength through collaboration.
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