Dr. Turner's Thank You Speech for the HBT Memorial Fountain

Our family has long admired and supported the efforts of the Church Health Center and Dr. Scott Morris. Jenni has worked in the mental health counseling department and I have seen Cardiology referrals from the Internal Medicine Department.

They have focused on a group of our population that had little access to healthcare and given them both hope for a better future and quality care. Their approach to focus not only on the body but also the spirit should be emulated by all of us.

We thank you for allowing your most singular fountain to also be a memorial to our son, brother and friend.

For our grieving family this has been a difficult time but I want all of you to know how very much your personal support has meant to us. We miss Brent more than I can express but with the help of God and our friends we are slowly leaving behind the grief and focusing on the many wonderful memories we cherish of him.

Brent had a gift to connect and engage with a large number of diverse people. Whether it was with inner-city teammates on the Memphis Junior Olympic basketball team, his New England friends, or women of any age, he left a lasting impression.

We have received an enormous number of lovely and touching letters regarding Brent. I want to read an excerpt from one particularly poignant letter addressed to Jenni ...

"As a mom, if I raise a child to be as kind, as engaged with people and the world around him, and as open to excitement for life as Brent was, I will be proud. I want you to know how much the one you raised changed the lives of other people in profound ways. His friendship was like sunshine."

This memorial was organized and carried out by Brent's friends and the superb staff of Church Health Center. I can not think of any memorial that would be more appreciated than this fountain of hope and healing waters. May God bless you and your families.

-Dr. Jan Turner