HARTFORD – Eric V. Turner, the Connecticut Freedom of Information (FOI) Commission’s Managing Director and Associate General Counsel, was presented with the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Helen M. Loy Award 2010, May 27, 2010, at its Annual Dinner and Awards Dinner held at the fabulous Fantasia Restaurant in North Haven, CT.

Turner has been the FOIC’S Associate General Counsel since December of 2005 when he became the second managing director in the commission’s 35 years of existence. He has worked at the FOIC, which is charged with guaranteeing citizens access to public meetings and public records, since 1996 when he began as Director of Public Education. In accepting SPJ honors, Turner thanked former Executive Director and General Counsel Mitchell Pearlman, the current Executive Director and General Counsel Colleen M. Murphy, his wife and colleagues from the FOIC.

“One of the things I appreciate most is the opportunities I’ve had to work in the international arena, particularly with respect to meeting representatives from various emerging democracies, such as China, Mexico and South Africa. Working with the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Info and the Connecticut Foundation for Open Government has been a highlight as well. Keeping government open and accountable to the public isn’t easy. It requires persistence”, Turner said during his acceptance speech.

Turner graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo, cum laude, and earned a law degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law and serves on a number of state, national and international professional and civic organizations. He resides in Hartford with his wife, Jennifer Smith Turner.　

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT TOM HENNICK AT (860) 566-5682 OR BY EMAIL AT thomas.hennick@ct.gov.　

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