Cal Turner Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 25, 1940 |
| Alma mater | Vanderbilt University |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouse(s) | Margaret Turner |
| Children | Cal Turner III |
| Parent(s) | Cal Turner Laura Katherine Goad |
Hurley Calister "Cal" Turner Jr. (born January 25, 1940) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He served as the chairman and chief executive officer of Dollar General, a chain of low-cost variety stores founded by his father, Cal Turner Sr.
Cal Turner Jr. was born on January 25, 1940, to Laura and Cal Turner.[2][3] He is the son of Cal Turner, the founder of Dollar General.[4] He has three siblings, including a sister, Laura Dugas.[5] He is the oldest son.[6] He grew up in Scottsville, Kentucky.[6]
Turner graduated from Vanderbilt University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1962.[7] He served in the United States Navy from 1962 to 1965.[7]
Turner started his career at the family firm, Dollar General, in December 1965.[4] He worked his way up and began by "sweeping the warehouse in the company."[8] He became president in 1977 and chairman in 1988.[4] He served as its chairman and chief executive officer until 2003.[4][7][9] During his tenure, he forced both his father and his brother out of the business.[6]
Turner served on the board of directors of First American Corporation and the First American National Bank.[3] He serves on the CEO Council of Council Capital.[7]
Turner is a billionaire.[10]
Turner serves on the board of trust of his alma mater, Vanderbilt University.[4] He endowed the Cal Turner Program For Moral Leadership in the Professions at the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University in 1994.[11] With his sister Laura Dugas, Turner donated a pipe organ to the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University.[5] Additionally, Turner serves on the board of trustees of Lindsey Wilson College, a private college in Columbia, Kentucky.[12] In March 2015, he donated US$1.2 million through the Cal Turner Family Foundation to endow the Turner Family Center for Social Ventures at Vanderbilt's Owen School of Management.[13]
Turner served on the board of trustees of Fisk University, a historically black university in Nashville; the PENCIL Foundation, a non-profit organization whose aim is to improve public education in Nashville, and the YMCA of Middle Tennessee.[4] He also served on the board of trustees of the Easter Seals Tennessee, a non-profit organization for children with disabilities and special needs.[14] Additionally, he serves on the Leadership Council of the Andrews Institute, a research center at the College of Leadership and Public Service of Lipscomb University.[15] Through the Cal Turner Family Foundation, he donated US$3 million to build the Cal Turner Family Center, a conference center at Meharry Medical College, a United Methodist medical school in Nashville.[16] Additionally, he established the Cal Turner Jr. Center for Church Leadership at Martin Methodist College, a United Methodist college in Pulaski, Tennessee.[17]
Turner was the recipient of the Presidential Award for Private Sector Initiatives from President Ronald Reagan in 1988.[4] Additionally, he was awarded the Stanley S. Kresge Award from the United Methodist Higher Education Foundation.[4]
Turner had a wife, Margaret (who died in 2019),[18] and has a son, Cal Turner, III. They resided in a home in Fieldstone Farms, a neighborhood of Franklin, Tennessee, near Nashville.[19]
Turner is a member of the United Methodist Church.[4] He plays the piano and pipe organ.[5]