Joe M. Turner (born November 23, 1969) is an American corporate magician,

mentalist Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Mentalists perform a theatrical act that includes special effects that may appear to employ ps ...

, and a frequent

keynote speaker A keynote in public speaking is a talk that establishes a main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address. The keynote establishes the framework fo ...

at conferences and other gatherings. Based in both

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, he is primarily active in the field of corporate magic and is known for customizing his magic for conferences, meetings, keynote speeches, trade shows, product launches, and other kinds of corporate events. He frequently incorporates sleight-of-hand, escape magic, and mentalism into keynote addresses as a

motivational speaker A motivational speaker (or inspirational speaker) is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep ta ...

for corporate and private groups, speaking on topics of

customer experience Customer experience, sometimes abbreviated to CX, is the totality of cognitive, affective, sensory, and behavioral responses of a customer during all stages of the consumption process including pre-purchase, consumption, and post-purchase st ...

brand engagement Brand engagement is the process of forming an emotional or rational attachment between a consumer and a brand. It comprises one aspect of brand management. Brand engagement impacts brand attachment and positively influence on customer purchase in ...

, memory training,

change management Change management (CM) is a discipline that focuses on managing changes within an organization. Change management involves implementing approaches to prepare and support individuals, teams, and leaders in making organizational change. Change mana ...

, and creativity. He has appeared on CNN and network television programs in Europe and South America. Turner is recognized within the magic industry as a columnist for Genii magazine and for serving as the 2015-2016 International President of the

International Brotherhood of Magicians International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.) is an organization for both professional and amateur close-up and stage magicians, with approximately 15,000 members worldwide. The headquarters is in St. Charles, Missouri. There are over 300 l ...

. He is the first native

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

an to perform in all three showrooms at the

Magic Castle The Magic Castle is a performance venue, restaurant, and clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts for magicians and magic enthusiasts in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, United States. The Academy was started in 1952 by ...

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

. He has appeared at Monday Night Magic in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, at House of Cards in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, and at the Dickens Parlor Theater at the Tropicana

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

and in its later form as a standalone theater in Delaware. He was voted Greater Atlanta Magician of the Year for 2000, 2010, and 2013, and FEA Atlanta Magician of the Year for 2009. His primary performance expertise is in the field of sleight-of-hand card magic, mentalism, and magic as a communication tool. Turner and his wife have two grown children and live in west Tennessee.

Early years

Joe Milton Turner was born in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

and grew up in nearby Brandon. His early years were marked with interest in magic, music, and acting. He was fascinated with the televised magic performances of

Doug Henning Douglas James Henning (May 3, 1947 – February 7, 2000) was a Canadian magician, illusionist, escape artist and politician. Early life Henning was born in the Fort Garry district of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Henning became interested in magi ...

and

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...

. He cites

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

Dick Van Dyke Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. Dick Van Dyke on screen and stage, His work spans screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Dick Van Dyke, his awards includ ...

Red Skelton Richard Bernard Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national old-time radio, radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program ''The Red Skelto ...

and

Victor Borge Børge Rosenbaum (; 3 January 1909 – 23 December 2000), known professionally as Victor Borge ( ), was a Danish and American actor, comedian, and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and television in both North America and Europe. Hi ...

as additional influences on his style. Turner attended

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

where he was awarded one of the first Schillig Leadership Scholarships. While a student at Mississippi State, Turner earned a 1989 summer undergraduate fellowship to study

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies th ...

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1943, the laboratory is sponsored by the United Sta ...

. He spent evenings in Oak Ridge as the pianist/music director at the local theater. During the summers of 1991 and 1992 he was awarded music direction and performance internships at Maine State Music Theatre. He later wrote and composed the stage musica
BankNote$
Library of Congress Copyright Record - search for title "BankNote$"
/ref> He had leading and supporting roles in numerous productions and was awarded Outstanding Performance by an Actor in 1991 and Outstanding Director in 1992. In 1991 he was named to the Mississippi State University Hall of Fame in recognition of his various academic, artistic, and leadership achievements. Turner graduated

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

in 1992 with a B.S. in physics/chemistry education, also completing significant additional coursework in astrophysics, music and theater. This crossover of interests and aptitudes has been a continuing theme in his work and in his ability to synthesize a variety of messages into cohesive presentations. He now serves on the selection committee for th
Mississippi State University Distinguished Scholars
program, which encompasses the original Schillig program plus other subsequently endowed scholarships.Mississippi State University Alumnus magazine, Fall 2008

Pre-magic career

Turner’s early career was in the field of

management consulting Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultant ...

. He began this career in 1993 with Andersen Consulting (now

Accenture Accenture plc is a global multinational professional services company originating in the United States and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, that specializes in information technology (IT) services and management consulting. It was founded in 1 ...

) in Atlanta, where he was promoted twice and became a manager in the firm’s

practice. He left that position in 1998 to become a Vice President at

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...

, working on similar human performance and communication issues within the Business Practices Integration division. He left the bank in 2000 to pursue a career as an

entertainer An entertainer is someone who provides entertainment in various different forms. Types of entertainers

* Acrobat * Actor * Archimime * Barker (occupation), Barker * Beatboxer * Benshi * Bouffon * Cheerleader * Circus arts, Circus perform ...

and

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

Corporate magic and speaking career

Turner’s first major project as a professional corporate magician was for

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It manufactures, sells and markets soft drinks including Coca-Cola, other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. Its stock is lis ...

. After a selection process that involved numerous professional magicians and magic consultants across the United States, Turner was engaged by CMI (a division of Clear Channel Entertainment),

, and Reading is Fundamental to design, write, direct, and train performers to use magic in a project to promote literacy among school-age children.Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 4, 2002
/ref> This project, th
Storytraveler Illusion Show
was tied to Coca-Cola’s sponsorship of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and other films in that series. Turner's magic consulting work on that project helped it to win a silver Reggie Award in the "Best Cause-Related Promotion" category from the Promotion Marketing Association in 2002. Turner subsequently became a regular speaker and performer for The Coca-Cola Company at events at their Atlanta headquarters. He has also created customized magic at trade shows, meetings and conferences for a variety of clients such as

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

, InterContinental Hotel Group
Industrial Information Resources
Eton Corporation,

American Water Works Association American Water Works Association (AWWA) is an international non-profit, scientific and educational association founded to improve water quality and supply. Established in 1881, it is a lobbying organization representing a membership (as of 2024) o ...

, the Possible Woman Conference,

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for "Aluminum Company of America") is an American industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary alu ...

Pitney Bowes Pitney Bowes Inc. is an American technology company most known for its postage meters and other mailing equipment, services, and other technologies. The company was founded by Arthur Pitney, who invented the first commercially available postage m ...

, the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, Biosound-Esaote, and American Honda Motor Company, as well as hundreds of other small and medium-sized companies and associations. He continues to appear at trade shows, conferences, corporate events, and public entertainment venues across the United States and internationally, billed with the title "Chief Impossibility Officer." In addition to his corporate work, Turner starred in an ongoing one-man magic cabaret show in Atlanta's

Buckhead Buckhead is the wikt:uptown, uptown commercial and residential district of the city of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, comprising approximately the northernmost fifth of the city. Buckhead is the third largest business district within ...

district from 2005 through 2008. The show, ''Shenanigans'',Atlanta Journal-Constitution, November 10, 2005
/ref> was presented at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta and was highlighted as a favorite by former Atlanta mayor Sam Massell. Turner now tours the show to small theaters and other venues around the country. Since 2014, he has been a co-producer, star, and guest talent booker fo
Atlanta Magic Night
As a motivational speaker, Turner combines his magic performance skills and change management experiences to create presentations on the "magical" results that can be achieved through focus and determination. He delivers magic-enhanced keynotes on customer experience, brand engagement,

memory improvement Memory improvement is the act of enhancing one's memory. Factors motivating research on improving memory include conditions such as amnesia, age-related memory loss, people’s desire to enhance their memory, and the search to determine factors ...

, change management, and creative problem solving. He has been a guest speaker in college settings for both studentsAgnes Scott College News, May 6, 2008
/ref> and faculty.NACADA Southeast Region IV, March 2009
/ref> Since 2001, Turner has written a product review column for

Genii Magazine ''Genii, The Conjurors' Magazine'' is a magazine devoted to magic and magicians. It is a monthly magazine first published in September 1936, currently edited by Richard J. Kaufman and owned by Randy Pitchford. The magazine is based in Washington ...

in which he evaluates new instructional materials for professional and amateur magicians. He contributed to the magic book ''Scripting Magic'' by Pete McCabe, and has been cited in numerous other works including Ken Weber's ''Maximum Entertainment''.

Awards and honors

Turner was voted Greater Atlanta Magician of the Year for 2000, 2010, and 2013. He was honored with th
IBM Ring 9
President’s Award in 2002. He was named FEA Atlanta Magician of the Year 2009. He was the first performer ever to win both the Doyne Michie Award for Excellence in Close-Up Magic and the J.C. Doty Award for Excellence in Stage Magic. He remains the only Georgia magician ever to appear in all three major showrooms at the

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, California: the Close-Up Gallery, the Parlor of Prestidigitation, and the Palace of Mystery. He also won numerous awards in competitions at local and regional magic conventions. He has frequently served as a judge for the finals of the International Brotherhood of Magicians international stage magic and close-up magic competitions. Turner served as the 2015-2016 International President of the

. He previously served as International President-Elect, International Vice President, Executive Committee member, and as Territorial Vice President for the state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. He served as the Executive Secretary of th
Southeastern Association of Magicians
from 2001-2002. He has also served as a Deputy Regional Vice President for Georgia for the

Society of American Magicians The Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.) is the oldest fraternal magic organization in the world. Its purpose is "to advance, elevate, and preserve magic as a performing art, to promote harmonious fellowship throughout the world of magic, and ...

. In February 2010, Turner was elected a member of The Magic Circle in London, receiving the unusual and prestigious distinction of immediate advancement to the degree of Associate of the Inner Magic Circle (A.I.M.C.) with silver star.

References

External links

Joe M. Turner - Official magic web site

Joe M. Turner - Official keynote speaking web site

Genii Magazine

Performance and interview on "This Is Atlanta" - WPBA Channel 30
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Joe M 1969 births Living people Accenture people American magicians Mentalists American motivational speakers People from Jackson, Mississippi People from Brandon, Mississippi Mississippi State University alumni