M. C. Williams Middle School to rename auditorium the C. Lee Turner Performing Arts Center

October 6, 2016 will be a great day in the life of Mr. Clarence Lee Turner, former teacher and drama director at the then M. C. Williams High School.

The renaming ceremony runs from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the school on 6100 Knox Street in Acres Home.

Tickets are $20.00 at the door and $50.00 for persons attending the VIP Reception where you may reminisce about the good old days with the honoree as well as reconnect with former classmates, members of "Die Gruppe" (formed by Mr. Turner in 1967) and perhaps greet a few members of the "The Booster Club" (also formed by Mr. Turner in the early '70's) and also enjoy refreshments!

The VIP reception ticket also includes the price of entry to the special performance of the classic play "To Be Young Gifted and Black, by the venerable Lorraine Hansberry. The production is directed by RaShonda Jones and Jabari Collins, drama instructors at George Washington Carver Magnet School and also former students of Mr. Turner.

This auspicious event is the brainchild of former student, Eric Lakey, who has incorporated the talents of graduates of M. C. Williams' first graduating class to its last before it became a middle school.

Members of the planning committee includes former students of M. C. Williams Jr., Senior High School who were taught by Mr. Turner either in the classroom or on the stage. The members are: Eric Lakey, Catherine Dorsey, Dwight LeBlanc, Mrs. Beverly LeBlanc, Mary C. Simon, Mrs. Aquila Tippet Aubrey, Norma Thomas, Mrs. Beverly Allen Robinson, Carol Ware and Ms. Jonnie Gannaway-Johnson. Individually and collectively the group represents a tiny culmination of the training, discipline, talent and life-skills imbued upon the members via participation in the classroom, at Speech Tournaments, banquets, countless ceremonies and calendar events as well as requests to perform across the states of Texas, Louisiana, California and New York, and even London, England.

Tickets for the grand occasion that only happens only once in a lifetime are available now at from Catherine Dorsey at M.C. Williams Middle School Multipurpose Center at 6719 W. Montgomery Road, or you can call 832-731-6208 or 832-338-2147 for ticket information.

Turner is also a former Associate Professor of Drama and Theater Arts and the sponsor the Charles Gilpin Players at Prairie View A&M University. Turner is credited for shaping and enhancing the lives of many students over his 40 some years of teaching and directing to include the famous Jennifer Holiday, Monique Ridge, Ezekiel Morgan, Sandra Lovelady, Mirron Willis, Amy Henderson, Hattie Horn, Sheila Ruth, Eric Cooper, Bobbi Yarbrough, Brian Chapman, Tyrone Grant, Terrence Spivey, Troy Hogan, Paul Osborne, Adonis Fuentes, Charles Stewart, Jr., Mattie Cuba Lillian M. Pope, Rikki Valentino LaFontaine, Lee Stansberry, Regina Hearne, Bryan Epps, Marcel Alexander, Gregory Stewart, Donna Bell Stewart, and DeAlan Wilson, to name a few.