Betty Turner: Setting Aside Egos for a Better Germantown

By QUEEN MUSE

Guest Writer

She’s been likened in looks to a younger Rosa Parks. And while she’s fought her share of battles for civil rights, Germantown native Betty Turner has now turned her attention to another challenge – uniting Germantown’s often fragmented community groups to work together for the greater good of the neighborhood.

“There are 273 neighborhood organizations throughout Philadelphia and more than 30 of those are in our neighborhood,” Turner said. “If we can work together and leave our egos at home, we can do great things for Germantown.”

Driven by curiosity and a commitment to civic engagement, Turner, 73, has served as chair and member of the board of directors of Mt. Zion Community Development Corporation, been president of Rittenhouse McCallum Neighbors Association, and worked as executive director of the committee responsible for making Germantown an official “Classic Town.”

Most recently, she teamed up with Rev. Nancy Muth of the First Presbyterian Church in Germantown to form Germantown Community Connection, Inc. (GCC), which aims to improve the quality of life in Germantown through coordinated planning among some 30 separate community groups.

“My dream for Germantown is that it be a vibrant, strong community for all people,” Turner said. “I hope our community will begin to take advantage of its diversity in terms of race, income, talents and skills.”

Irv Acklesberg, a pro-bono lawyer for GCC, said the group, which was incorporated two years ago, represents a path-breaking effort to coordinate planning in Germantown. “What Betty is addressing with GCC is all of the agendas, fears and issues involved with this process that have historically divided Germantown,” he said. “Those issues have not disappeared.”

Jim Foster, publisher of Germantown Newspapers, said he sat in on several meetings with Turner when GCC was being created. Of all the people on the committee, Foster said, “Betty is the lightning rod there.”

Foster, who has known Turner for more than a decade, describes her as “a mix between the best school teacher you ever had, your grandmother and a drill sergeant. She can easily shift in and out of those modes when she needs.”

Such resilience seems to have characterized much of Turner’s life. 

When she was forced to leave high school in her senior year for personal reasons, Turner adapted. She became a family woman, got married and gave birth to five healthy children. But her family life couldn’t quench her desire for education and public service.

“Even when I was raising my children, I was still active in the things around me that were in my community,” Turner recalled.

Among other projects, Turner started a community health clinic in Schuylkill Falls Housing Project to serve low-income children and young adults. The Medical College of Pennsylvania’s  Community Outreach Department sent pediatricians, social workers and laboratory technicians to the clinic and it was a great success; still, Turner had  bigger plans.

“When I turned 35 and I had this vision of wanting to do more, I knew that in order to do more, I had to have credentials,” Turner said. She devoted the next stage of her life to doing just that: becoming educated and helping her community prosper at the same time.

At age 35, Turner enrolled in a college for working adults and registered to take her high school equivalency test (GED) at Temple University. After passing with high scores, she immediately enrolled in the bachelor of arts program at Antioch University, an Ohio-based institution with several branches, including one in Center City.

Turner returned to school determined to be a pediatric social worker.  But by the end of her first semester, she learned about abilities she never knew she had. Turner came to her professional development class, books in hand and prepared for anything.

“I remember several occasions when my professor had to be out; I would volunteer to instruct the class while he was gone,” Turner said. “That professor pulled me aside at the end of the semester and said ‘I’ve watched you this quarter and you don’t belong in social work, Betty; you need to be in administration.”

Turner later switched her major to administration and used her health clinic experience as a practicum for class credits, which allowed her to graduate from the four-year program in two years.

The self-proclaimed “life-long learner” is now nearing the completion of her doctorate in management and decision-making through an online program with Walden University. She has also been featured in the news for her involvement in everything from re-opening the Germantown YMCA to serving on the Citizen’s City Planning Commission.

Turner said she starts each day with a prayer and attends the New Covenant Church of Philadelphia, located on Germantown Avenue in Mt. Airy. She is also president of the community development corporation for Mt. Zion Baptist Church of Germantown, where she served on the usher board for many years.

Although she tries to reserve “flex time” every day, Turner has little room for leisure. In addition to her work at GCC, she also helps care for her three-year-old grandson.

“I am 73 years old and continue to forget how old I am because I have much to do,” she said.  “I believe each day is fresh and bursting with promise for the individual and the community.”

For more information about Germantown Community Connection, Inc., 35 West Chelten Avenue, visit www.germantowncc.org.

Queen Muse is a student writer for Germantown Beat at La Salle University, http://germantownbeat.lasalle.edu.

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