Clay Turner
Principal/Creative Director, See Turner

Clay Turner is the Principal/Creative Director of See Turner, a marketing communications firm in Colorado Springs, CO and Scottsdale, AZ. He specializes in strategy, design, concept art and copywriting for marketing communications.

A sample of recent projects include the redesign of Colo|Spgs magazine, the 27-year-old city magazine formerly known as Colorado Springs Style; the rebrand of Strata at Garden of the Gods Resort & Club, the wellness destination at the iconic 72-year-old resort; and the redesign of the website for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA).

Clay has over four decades of experience in the advertising industry. He has served as creative director on accounts such as the National Rifle Association (NRA), Six Flags Theme Parks, Brunswick Bowling, Thrifty Car Rental, The Dallas Cowboys, Trammell Crow Company, The Williams Companies, Chesapeake Energy, The Daily Oklahoman, The Colorado Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau, Windstar Casinos, The Greater OKC Chamber of Commerce, American National Bank and the Bank of Oklahoma.

In 2000, Clay created NRA America’s First Freedom magazine, one of the NRA’s official journals. He served as creative director for A1F for 19 years, directing content and designing/writing feature copy as circulation grew to exceed 700,000. In 2009, Clay was also responsible for launching Americas1stFreedom.org, writing and illustrating daily feature content.

In 2009, Clay created NRA Ring of Freedom, a premium publication for high-level donors. In 2010, he followed that by creating American Warrior, a digital magazine tailored for the active-duty military and law enforcement communities.

In 2019, Clay directed the relaunch of the NRA Guide: Basics of Pistol Shooting, the world’s best-selling book on handgun safety. Clay redesigned and edited this popular guide, featuring 300 new photos and illustrations.

Before beginning his advertising career, Clay was the principal of his own design and illustration firm, The Turner Group. Clients included Coors, Anheuser Busch, Ralston Purina, The Breeder’s Cup, McDonald’s, Miller Brewing, WGN Chicago and Games magazine. The Turner Group was acquired by the advertising agency Ackerman McQueen in 1991 and Clay joined as a Senior VP/Creative Director.

Community Involvement: Clay chaired the Pikes Peak Area United Way campaign in 2000, served 2 terms as president of the Children’s Literacy Center and served on the board of CASA of the Pikes Peak Region.

Clay is a member of the Colorado 30 Group, an organization of business leaders who work with and support the five military bases in Colorado Springs

In 2021, Clay was elected to the Board of Directors of the Sports Car Club of America, where he currently serves as the Vice Chairman. Prior to that, he served 4 years as the regional executive of the Continental Divide region of the SCCA.

He is also the chair of the Communications Committee of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA).

Extracurricular activities: Clay began racing sports cars in college. He has been competing with SCCA as a road racer and autocrosser since 2000. He is a regular attendee at the Solo National Championships, finishing second in 2015.

Clay is also a competitor with the United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA), achieving an “A” classification in the Production category, putting him in the top 15 percent of the USPSA’s 31,000 competitors.

Awards: Clay is a gold medalist with the Society of Illustrators and a national award winner with the American Advertising Federation (AAF). In 2019, he was named a Distinguished Alumni of Oklahoma State University.