Karen Turner came to Field Guides as a Tour Manager in January 1995 and became an instant hit with everyone in the company, not least for her ability to figure out solutions to problems large and small -- and communicate her ideas with a trademark calm, modest courtesy. Remarkably, her daughter Anna was born in July of the same year, but multi-tasking comes naturally to Karen, who became manager of both the Australia and Alaska tours in her first week of work. "I love the complicated tours, where I have to book everything myself. I love the challenge," she says. And so imagine handling these, plus Papua New Guinea, Lesser Antilles, Thailand, Bhutan, Winter Japan, Tawian, and Vietnam all in one year!
In recent years, Karen added new responsibilities as Office Manager, as the company had almost doubled in size since she began. About her quarter century with the company, Karen writes: "I love working at Field Guides -- something new is always coming up, so there is never a shortage of things to do, and I am definitely never bored!" (Ever the diplomat, see?) When not captaining the ship at the office, Karen relaxes (so she claims) at home on 4 acres with her donkeys Talulah and Annie and four rescued Australian Shepherds. Karen and her husband, Rich, volunteer with Austin Aussie Rescue and have been rescuing dogs for over 20 years, becoming particularly good with the more "difficult" dogs. Although she would never admit it, even privately, Karen is an incredibly talented chef and artist, favoring acrylic on canvas but enjoying work in many different media. And while she may seem like Polly Purebred, we agree, watch out for April Fool's Day! Karen's sense of humor is always a balm to clients and co-workers, but on that day, a clever prank is not out of bounds. Beware, and mark your calendars!
Client comment
"This was one of the best led trips I have ever been on. The Field Guides office staff was outstanding. When I was stranded in Atlanta [due to an airline issue], Karen Turner took care of everything." L.S., JAGUAR SPOTTING
"Karen Turner was on call at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday morning when we found out our flight had been cancelled. She calmed me down, said she'd look into options and get back to me later in the morning after she had a chance to talk with our guide. Our eternal thanks to Karen. Her solution worked well. Field Guides is a 'Top of the line' birding tour company." N.H., SPRING IN CAPE MAY