Nolan and Courtney Turner Memorial Fund Endows $100,000 for County-Wide Scholarship

The Nolan and Courtney Turner Memorial Fund (NTCO) has hit its first goal — reaching the $100,000 mark to endow a long-term, county-wide scholarship in honor of Nolan and Courtney Turner, a son and mother who lost their lives in a car accident involving a drunk driver in 2023. The scholarship application opens to students for the first time in March.

Jesse Turner, Nolan’s father and founder of the memorial fund, and Ella Turner, Nolan’s younger sister and vice president of the memorial fund, posted a video January 13 announcing this extreme achievement.

“When we started NTCO 20 months ago, our goal was really simple,” Turner said in the video. “To help our community and help us process our own grief.”

Along the way, Turner partnered with many local businesses and community members to make the NTCO goal come to fruition. Madi & Co sells NTCO t-shirts and other merchandise, the American Legion Auxiliary helped raise money for local scholarships and The Mic Stand hosted an open mic comedy night fundraiser. Turner’s favorite collaboration, he said, was with the University of Tennessee VolShop, where a shirt showcasing Nolan’s art is sold to customers across the nation.

As Ella said in the video — while displaying signs of varying sizes — they did it. They raised the money.

When Turner created the scholarship fund, he planned for it to start by 2031 — Nolan’s graduation year. Because of the major fundraising success NTCO experienced, the Nolan and Courtney Turner Memorial Fund scholarship will start this year.

Each year, the scholarship recipient will receive a $1,000 scholarship that is renewable for three additional years — resulting in $4,000 in total per student. The recipient can use the scholarship at a two- to four-year college as well as any Tennessee College of Applied Technology.

“It was a high priority of ours to ensure that whatever amount we gave out for their first year, the student could receive it for their second, third, and fourth year as well,” Turner told The Banner. “We also wanted this scholarship to outlast us as a family, so we chose to endow the scholarship instead of raising money annually.”

While Turner plans for one student to receive the scholarship in future years, this year the fund will offer special one-time scholarships to celebrate the first year of the Nolan and Courtney Turner Memorial Fund scholarship. Turner’s goal is for one student from each school in Carroll County to receive a scholarship.

The scholarship application will not be based on a student’s grade-point average or ACT score. Instead, it will focus on a community service project or a volunteer experience that each applicant is passionate about.

“Helping our community while processing our grief has been a life source during the last two years,” Turner wrote on Facebook, “and we’re not stopping yet.”

Since Nolan and Courtney’s death, Jesse and Ella Turner have brought their community together through community service and festive events like Spookfest. With every event, they keep their family member’s names and hearts alive.

The duo will help host the American Legion Auxiliary Souper Bowl February 7 at 6 p.m., raising additional money for scholarships through the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 47 and NTCO. It will feature entertainment from Tylan Johnson and Claudia Cooper, soup from Bealla Q and a silent auction with items donated from around the county.

After that, they will continue to sell their shirts and other projects at Madi & Co., Ella Bella’s Sip Shack will be set up at events throughout the year, and they will host their annual Highway 70 yard sale. Spookfest, Turner said, is also looking to be even bigger and better this year.

As far as what comes next, Turner told The Banner, “I’m still meeting with my Vice President, Ella Turner, to make sure her heart is completely on board and excited about what area of the community we want to help next … My hope is to instill in Ella to be the change she wants to see in her community.”

The two are aiming for projects in the $5,000 - $10,000 range and want to continue sponsoring community events.

“We’ll miss Nolan and Courtney for the rest of our lives,” Turner wrote on Facebook. “Thank you for helping us give them a legacy after they tragically lost the ability to do so themselves.”