Judi Turner

A Gainesville, Georgia native, Judi Turner received a degree in journalism from the University of Georgia in 1970. She began writing a freelance column on country music in 1978 which eventually led her to move to Nashville, where she joined the staff of the Country Music Association in 1982.

She spent three years as administrative assistant to Executive Director Jo Walker-Meador before being upped to director of public information responsible for editing the monthly magazine, Close Up and the CMA Awards program book and directing media activities for the CMA Awards, Fan Fair and other CMA activities.

In 1988, Judi joined the staff of Network Ink Public Relations as the responsible publicist for the Marlboro Music Tour, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Vol. 2, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Ricky Skaggs, Mike Reid, New Grass Revival and others.

She started her own independent PR firm, Turner & Company, in 1992, representing such artists as The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Bill Gaither, Rodney Crowell, Lonestar, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Shenandoah, Collin Raye, the RCA Label Group and the CMA Awards. From 2006-2011, Judi was a writer at the Country Music Hall of Fame. She co-wrote Bill Carter’s memoirs, Get Carter: Backstage in History from JFK’s Assassination to the Rolling Stones, scripted the PBS special, The Johnny Cash Music Festival, and edited and wrote the magazines, Celebrate Nashville! and Sports and Entertainment Nashville.

A long-time member of the board of SOURCE and the SOURCE Awards committee, Judi is a 1996 alumna of Leadership Music and was involved with the organization in a volunteer capacity for many years before joining the staff in August 2012 as Manager of Communications and Events.