The company knows the huge challenge diabetes plays in its home state of Texas. TETCO vice chairman Jon Turner deals with it daily.
"I was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes in my early 30s, proving it can strike anyone at any stage of their life," said Turner. "More than 5,000 people die in Texas each year from diabetic complications and the mission of JDRF is to find [image-nocss] a cure and help people with the disease. We can reduce that loss of life with research and education and TETCO is focused on that goal with its support."
A few years ago, when Turner served as chairman of the Annual Walk to Cure Diabetes, he met adults and children dealing with the disease and struggling to maintain a normal life in spite of its complications. "They inspired me to focus our efforts to find a cure and I admire their daily fight to stay as healthy as they can for as long as they can while the research continues," said Turner.
The $205,000 donation this year came from the JDRF Annual Walk to Cure Diabetes sneaker sales campaign, through which TETCO customers contributed a dollar or more and wrote their name on a paper sneaker posted in the 39 TETCO stores participating in the yearly fundraiser. In 2010, more than 6,000 walkers took part in the walk event to raise more than $550,000.
TETCO is a San Antonio, Texas-based company, owned and operated by the Tom E. Turner family for more than 60 years. C-store operations, construction and equipment sales, fuel system sales and service, petrochemical distribution and environmental engineering are the company's primary revenue sources, with significant interests in oil and gas exploration, real-estate development, paving, and utility construction.
The company operates more than 800 stores in Texas, as well as, Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Utah.
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