The promotion came when Director Troy Garvin retired last month from 25 years serving the city of more than 30,000.
Turner will lead a staff of 10 while remaining focused on efforts to strengthen cybersecurity awareness and training across 17 departments and 400 employees.
“We recognize that in order for us to better secure the technical environment, we all have to be part of the solution. Today’s cybersecurity challenges require a layered approach that goes beyond virus scan and firewalls,” he said. “Employees need to be able to identify potential threats as well. Here at Weatherford we place a high value on partnership and community. And we believe that security awareness training is a key part of building a strong community.”
A Granbury resident, Turner has been with Weatherford since 2016 and in IT since 2000. He has worked in the small-business and nonprofit sectors.
His interest in technology was sparked early. Turner began taking computer programming classes as a middle school student in Weatherford Independent School District and completed Cisco Network Academy training in partnership with the high school.
“Mr. Turner was the obvious choice for the director of IT role,” City Manager James Hotopp said. “He has strengthened our IT network and has shown that his knowledge in cybersecurity is unprecedented. I have strong confidence in his ability to lead the team and know Weatherford has the right person for the job.”
Although the department is not planning on any new RFPs, it continues to look to its technology road map and manage the budget.
“I want to build on our success in IT to serve the staff and the citizens of Weatherford,” Turner said. “I believe we’ll accomplish that by being innovative, ensuring secure access to systems and information, and fostering strong collaborative partnerships. For the IT team, we’ll continue to exhibit empathy and agility in responding to the needs of those we serve.”
