Jim L. Turner

Born in 1945 in a working-class neighborhood in Houston, Jim Turner was the fifth of seven children, and he was the first boy. He lived in the same house his entire childhood. Turner describes his parents as caring but disciplined. His father was a machinist for an oil company. "I learned the hard work ethic from both my parents, my dad outside the home, and my mother in it," Turner says.

All his siblings were expected to help with household chores, including laundry and yard work, but Turner also tried to support himself as much as possible. He had a paper route, and at the age of 12, became a stock boy at a grocery store. He also pumped gas at a service station. Throughout his school years, Turner usually worked two jobs.

During his senior year, Turner was salutatorian of his class and captain of the baseball and basketball teams. He also served as student body president, and his athletic skills earned him a basketball scholarship to Baylor University. He became the freshman scoring leader for scored in any one game; his record 63 points still has not been broken. He was named the All Southwest Conference player at Baylor and made the All Southwest academic team.

After graduating with a degree in business, Turner entered a training program with American Can Company as a management trainee. In the 1970s, he worked for the Coca-Cola Bottling Company. By the late 1970s, he was made general manager of a bottling operation. In that capacity, he steered the company toward buying a Dr Pepper franchise. Through that acquisition, he was offered a job in Dallas to manage all of Dr Pepper's bottling plants. Within two years, he bought the company's bottling operations, and in 1985, he took ownership of the Dr Pepper Bottling Company of Texas, which he made highly successful. In 2005, Turner retired as president and CEO of Dallas-based Dr Pepper/Seven Up Bottling Group.

Of his Horatio Alger Award, Turner says, "I don't think I have ever felt better about an award than I do this one. It is an honor to be put in a group of such high-caliber people." Turner also closely identifies with the Horatio Alger National Scholars, adding, "Without my scholarship, I would not have been able to attend a major college like Baylor."

His advice for young people goes back to what his father always told him: "Set your goals high. There are enough opportunities out there to do whatever you want to do. Have a realistic plan and work hard to achieve it. Adversity causes you to work harder at what you want to accomplish."