My grandpa worked at Cofer Brothers forever it seemed... People

FROM FITZGERALD FIELD AND TUCKER HIGH
TO THE SUPER BOWL
Kevin Turks, former Tucker Tigers
Team Captain and currently Pro Scout
for the Chicago Bears, went with his
team to the Super Bowl this year.
Here is Kevin Turks, in his own words:
“I
, Kevin Turks, was born in
Bavaria, East Germany, during
my father’s tour in the United
States Army. My parents, Charles and
Virginia “Gail” Turks, were high school
sweethearts. I am married to Lakeisha
Turks whom I met at North Carolina
State University (NCSU). We are expecting our first child, a baby girl, this
summer.
My grandpa
worked at Cofer
Brothers forever it seemed...
People talk about great
men, but in my eyes he was
the essence of greatness.
My family has been in Tucker, Georgia as long as I
can remember. I am very fortunate to still have both of my
Grandmothers, Sarah Turks and Edie Mae Williams, in my
life. I was also fortunate to receive nurturing from my great
grandparents, William McKinley and Betsy Peters, as well.
My grandpa worked at Cofer Brothers forever it seemed until he passed away. People talk about great men, but in my
eyes he was the essence of greatness. He was a quiet man
but strong and steadfast. Even though we moved around
quite a bit throughout DeKalb County, my brother, Pete,
and sisters, Tonya and Melody, and I spent the majority of
our lives in Tucker. I can recall the days on my Grandma
Edie Mae’s porch preaching into a hair brush as my microphone with my sister, Tonya, as my only faithful member.
At an early age I was taught that being in Church was the
source of my strength and being. I was actively involved
in singing in the Choir, multiple Easter plays, and a memcontinued next page
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ber of 4-H while at St. John Apostolic Holiness Church. My
parents instilled in us a sense of having a strong work ethic
in whatever we did whether it was chores around the house,
mowing lawns, or raking leaves throughout the community
(for free I might add) because they believed in the age-old
adage that anything worth having, you work hard for it, and
anything you do is worth doing right.
I attended Smoke Rise Elementary where I had great
teachers in Ms. Daniels, Ms. Middlebrooks, and Mr. Rampy
and the nicest principal ever, Mrs. Ruth Fruit. I was somewhat of and introvert but I was able to develop a great friendship and brotherhood with Rico Pearson. He and I still keep
in touch. Most kids in Smoke Rise aspired to be cloggers but
I enjoyed being a puppeteer and singing in the chorus. Rico
and I also enjoyed creating rhythmic beats on our desks that
would have our classmates rocking. In 1983 my mom got
me involved with the Tucker Football League (TFL). This
is when my football career began. Everyone practically in
my family, especially on my father’s side, played football at
Tucker. My Uncle Phillip Turks, my cousins Rodney Peters,
Ricky Turks, DenNorris Heard and Tee Edwards all played
football. We all took the same path as far as getting our
foundation in the TFL. I did not have to look at magazines or
TV to find idols growing up because I had these guys in my
own backyard. I began playing in the instructional league for
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From Fitzgerald Field..(continued from page 19)
Atlanta Falcons coached by Dean Taylor. I remember
my first play from scrimmage as I raced up the field for
an 80 yard touchdown and capped it off with my own
rendition of the Billy ‘Whites Shoes’ Johnson celebration. Playing in the TFL was very memorable because
I had the opportunity to play along side my brother,
Pete Turks. Making the 115 pound traveling team, the
Tucker Lions, was a great time and I can still recall
some of the gridiron days played on Fitzgerald field.
In 1990 I attended Tucker High School and I had
some great teachers in Ms. Pringley and Ms. Brown.
Principal Mr. Buchannan was one the most genuine
and kind persons one could ever meet. I was involved
in plays, the chorus, track, and basketball in addition to
playing 8th grade football. I also had the opportunity to
be the ball boy for the 1991 varsity Tucker High School
football team. I vividly recall the spirited battles against
the most hated Lakeside and the epic battle versus Hart
County which a fumble rooskie cost us from taking the
next step to the Championship.
I started varsity football my 10th grade year at
Tucker High School playing both defensive back and
receiver. I had some success at both positions. I was
placed at safety, which better suited my abilities, when
Coach Mike Fuller took over the reigns my Junior year.
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From Fitzgerald Field...(continued from page 20)
Making team captain was an honor because I
was nominated by my teammates. This nomination was a very rewarding experience. I can
recall during the Summer team trip and how
Coach Fuller would take the whole team out
to camp sites where we did quite a bit of team
bonding. The highlight of the camp was our
gladiators battles at night. This activity
brought us closer together and it had a profound affect on the success we had during
the season. I will always treasure my ability to wear the
maroon and gold and to hear
our fight song still gives me
goose bumps. Our roster was
filled with talented players
such as Adaryl Jones, Derrell Walker, Vince Griffin, and
Patrick Pass. Unfortunately,
we came up short as we lost
our last game against Columbia
High School. That was the last
time I would wear the maroon
and gold.
I took some official college
visits during my Senior year
LANDSCAPE DESIGN
•Designs you install
at your own pace
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but after visiting NCSU in Raleigh, North Carolina that is
where I felt comfortable. Mike O’Cain was the Head Coach
and I eventually signed my letter of intent in 1994. Going
to NCSU was a big transition especially being away from
home. It was also difficult not being able to play the position I played in high school as a free safety. I was moved
to an outside line backer and going against guys twice my
size was a big adjustment. It hurt at times seeing my family travel so far and I not receive a lot of playing time on
a consistent basis. They were always supportive no matter
what whether it was my mom and grandmother coming to
take care of me when I was sick or my brother driving 12
hours round trip just to see me play on special teams. Helping my team to an improbable win against national powerhouse Florida State at our home field was one of the highlights during my senior year. I was fortunate to be a part of
and play in two bowl games. The games were NCSU vs.
Mississippi State at the Georgia Dome and the other game
was against the University of Miami ‘The U’at the Micron
PC Bowl. The experience of these two games will last me
for a lifetime. Though my career did not end on a winning
note I knew that God had a bigger plan for my life. I met
my wife, Lakeisha, during my sophomore year and she became one source of my strength through some trying times.
I aspired to get a shot playing professionally but never got
much interest from teams and I was not too fond about
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From Fitzgerald Field...
(continued from page 23)
playing in the CFL. As I look back
on being away from the game, I do
not miss the practices, off season
programs, or lifting weights but I do
miss being around my teammates.
I became pretty much resigned
to the fact that my playing days
were drawing near and I needed to
find my next path after graduating in
the Spring of 1999. It took me some
time to figure out what I wanted to
do with myself and through God’s
favor I was able to get an internship
with the Atlantic Coach Conference
(ACC) at the Walt Disney Wide
World of Sports in Orlando, Florida.
I worked on the event management
side where I assisted in various events such as all AAU,
Pop Warner Football, 2000 Basketball Championships
in Greensboro, North Carolina and eventually coordinated the 2000 racquet ball and aquatic events for the
2000 Senior Games. This position allowed me to be in
the company of former World Class athletes and Olym-
Tucker High Graduation
pians. Some could hardly walk but you could sense their
competitive drive. A former NCSU teammate talked to me
about scouting opportunities while I was at Disney helping
with the 2000 Gridiron Classic. I realized this was the path I
wanted to take at the end of my internship after talking with
him over the next few months about what scouting entailed.
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Kevin Turks, Front Row #2
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From Fitzgerald Field...(continued from page 24)
I felt this career path would fill the void I was missing in my
life since I was no longer playing football.
I, along with a former NCSU teammate, Morocco
Brown, started submitting resumes of interest to all 32 teams
and through a lot of persistence I received an interview with
the Green Bay Packers. Unfortunately I was not hired and
became a bit discouraged over the next year. However, a
door opened as Morocco accepted a position with the Washington Redskins and was eventually hired by the Chicago
Bears in 2001. Just as I recommended him call the ACC
home office during my internship and he was hired on the
spot, he returned the favor. I was hired immediately as an
intern for Chicago that summer. I believe God puts the right
people in your life at the right time. Eventually working hard
and long hours paid off—I was hired full time as a Pro Scout
in 2002.
To be a part of the Chicago Bear organization with so
much history and tradition is truly an honor. Working for
good people such as General Manager Jerry Angelo and
Director of Pro Personnel Bobby DePaul made the transition easy. They gave me a ‘Harvard education’ about being a
scout. A lot of people think it is just about evaluating talent,
but you must know about rules and regulations, cap strategies, and most importantly, have good instincts. I believe
Mr. Angelo says it the best, ‘Anyone can be an information
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gatherer and give their opinion on obvious good players but it takes
an evaluator to assess talent and potential of players who are the
unknowns and this skill set is the mark of a good scout’. My job
consists of working in-house and providing advanced scouting
reports to our coaches for upcoming opponents, player evaluations
on Free agents, CFL and NFL Europe players. My role on the college side is limited, but I was able to gain some vast knowledge and
experience as a road scout and I do attend Pro timing days on occasion and assists on Draft Day. We were fortunate to make it to the
Super Bowl this year and I still can not believe it. The experience
was remarkable from the electric return of Devin Hester on the very
first play of the game to the half time performance by Prince. Even
though the outcome did not go our way I thank God for getting us
that far and I am excited about the possibly of returning in the near
future.
I have not been back to Tucker High School in quite a while
but I still keep up with our teams through relatives, the AJC and our
Tiger Football Website. Congratulations to the 2007 Boys Basketball Team and hopefully soon we will get over the hill to win the
State Football Championship.
I believe there is a divine purpose for all of us, but we must
know where we want to go before we can discover how to get
there. God always gives us direction—we just have to listen for it.”
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