Joy Turner, Entertainment Management Services, Daphne, AL

By Gina Lanaux

While chatting with Joy Turner at a coffee shop, her phone rings,“ Entertainment Management Services, This is Joy, How may I help you? “ When she finishes the call and turns her attention back to our interview, she says,” That was someone calling about a Santa booking.  I book Santa, Mrs. Claus, a little elf, the Dickens Carolers, and anything Christmas for Holiday events. I used to do about 30 Christmas parties a year. One time, I had 12 New Year's Eve bookings and about killed myself, running from one to the other!  A lot has changed over the years with events.”

Joy Turner is a lovely, well-dressed, professional lady who has booked entertainment for area events for 40 years. She got her start in the business in a very unexpected yet romantic way. Some may call it fate.  She grew up in Prichard, Alabama, and attended Vigor High School. She met another Vigor Alum, college music teacher, Fred Turner, also a musician who played the saxophone and clarinet.

At the time, Joy worked at a bank in Mobile and told Fred she would try to book gigs for him.  This was the start of Entertainment Management Services after she left the bank.  She started two businesses, as a single Mom, to help support herself and her three children. The first person she booked for a wedding was her attorney, David Shepherd's wife, Shannon, a longtime pianist at First Baptist Church of Fairhope.

She put an ad in the Yellow Pages in 1984 and started getting calls from entertainers and people who wanted to book entertainment.  Hence, Entertainment Management Services was off to a good start.  Seven years later, after that first booking for Fred, they were married.

Also in 1984, she started a Personnel and Records Management business.  Joy visited many businesses in Baldwin County to meet their needs for part-time, full-time, and temporary help in the area. She gave up that business 25 years ago, because of her success with Entertainment Management.

At present, Joy has 5000 entertainers in her database, plans events for businesses nationwide, and has major clients all along the Gulf Coast.  She has Fire Dancers, Balloon Twisters, Face Painters, Children’s characters, Magicians, Ventriloquists, Mimes, Jugglers, and even a Hypnotist.  She books bands and DJs, and the list of entertainers on her website, entertainmentstars.com, goes on and on. She plans themed corporate events, grand openings, private parties, and weddings, offering a full range of services, including everything from floral designs, rentals, transportation, catering, and table decor to entertainment and stage production.

One of her most memorable events was for Peets and JD Buffett's 50th Wedding Anniversary which she booked with their daughter, Lucy, and Jimmy was also present. It was cold and very windy, but Jimmy wanted it at Julep Point at The Grand Hotel because it reminded him of Key West. The wind blew away the lighted lanterns. “The women dressed in sundresses were freezing!” she laughs. I asked her if Jimmy, the famous son, played at the party. “No, we had a 12-piece Big Band that played swing music from the 40s and 50s. It was a great party.

Teen events for schools and children's entertainment are a big part of her business because so many conventions want activities for children. She can procure inflatables, rock climbing walls, carnival rides, tag games, theme parties, and a petting zoo. “I can get baby animals from our local zoo.”

The amazing thing is that Joy does all of this herself with a home office and a phone. We laugh about the learning curve, those of us of a certain age, who have had to adjust to using computers and software programs when we started with notebooks and 4 × 6 index cards. Joy was coordinating and planning weddings, and thought it would be less confusing if she had a website just for that, so about ten years ago joyousweddings.com was born. A creative and energetic person, she says she does some of the floral design and decorating herself.  

“There is no mention of the word Retirement in the Bible” she states.” I have a passion for what I do, and I have been blessed with so many wonderful and talented people to book and many terrific and loyal clients.”  When I inquired how she keeps up the pace of such a high-energy career, she revealed that she takes 60 food supplements a day and has for thirty years!  Her name is synonymous with her personality, and I expect that working with her is a joyful experience. Her phone keeps ringing, and she answers it every time.  Furthermore, her motto, “Booking the Best for All Occasions” says it all.

To have Joy help you with all of your event needs, here is her contact information:
www.entertainmentstars.com 
www.joyousweddings.com  
bookthebst@aol.com

Booking the Best for All Occasions
251-626-1274

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