By Emily Robertson
For lifelong Knoxville native, Jessica Turner, life is full. Whether she is working alongside her husband at their family orthodontics practice, volunteering her time for local charities, running the couples’ four boys to their activities, or spending time at the family’s farm, she is on a mission to love big and make life a party.
Jessica enjoys working with her husband, Dr. Andy Turner, as they grow their business, Andy Turner Orthodontics. Seeing patients since 2007, the Turners just opened a new office in 2022 and they’ve seen tremendous growth. Jessica believes the key to their success in business is their focus on building relationships.
“We’ve been so blessed,” Jessica says. “As business owners, the relationship piece is what we are really good at. We work hard to make connections with our patients, with their parents and with the community. We always say our motto is ‘we love to see you smile’ and we mean that in all kinds of ways. At our office, we make it our mission to make people feel at home here. Whatever challenges may come up, we can make a difference for people and we get to help people change their smile.”
Aside from work, Jessica is heavily involved in giving back to local causes. East Tennessee Children’s Hospital Fantasy of Trees is an event that she has volunteered with for nearly 20 years. Serving as the hospital’s biggest annual fundraiser, the event showcased 350 trees, a holiday storefront and holiday accessories. This year, Jessica served as chairperson for the sold-out preview event, Gala Among the Trees that took place on November 21. She co chaired the gala with her best friend, Adam Pennington, owner of Pennington Home.
“Fantasy of Trees is near and dear to my heart,” Jessica says. “It is a huge tradition for our family and I was honored to be a part of it again this year. Our Gala was a mingle event where people got a first look at everything. Attendees got to dress up and kick off the holidays checking out the trees with a silent auction, bourbon bingo and a live band. We had over 800 people and it was the first time the gala sold out. This year we had the opportunity to raise money for the neurology department at the hospital and it is such a fun, rewarding event.”
While the Turners are passionate about their work and philanthropy, Jessica says her greatest joy in life is being a mom, a role that keeps her extremely busy with her four boys: Parker, 18, Preston, 16, Kiser, 13 and Haze, 11. The family spends lots of time together traveling and on the lake, and they all enjoy being at their family farm where they recently built a new family home.
“Growing up as an only child, I love the chaos of all the boys and their friends. We love hosting their friends and having people over,” Jessica says. “I love being a mom.
My kids are phenomenal humans. We work hard and work a ton at the practice, but I’m blessed to be able to give back and I’m trying to teach my kids that as well. I remind my boys as it says in 1 Peter: ‘Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.’”
Jessica says that so much of who she is as a person is guided by her Nana, her 91-yearold grandmother, Helen Long.
“She has always been such a hard worker, she’s loving and she’s so compassionate,” Jessica says. “She is the most fun person to be around, everyone knows ‘Nana’.
“She always taught me to love people right where they are. They may not have grown up like you, so it is important to love others no matter what. I would love to possess even half of her qualities, and I think I’m going to have big shoes to fill.”
And, it appears she’s well on her way to following in her Nana’s footsteps. She says she always tries to make sure she loves people well, and has a lot of fun along the way. Whether it is her love of cake, or her eye for collecting anything from antiques to shoes, she tries to enjoy life to the very fullest.
“I think people would say that in all aspects of life, I’m a go big or go home kind of person,” Jessica says. “And, I also try to constantly learn more about myself so I can be better for other people. I want to make sure I embrace where I am in each season of life, so I can love others better each day.”