Rep. Turner has received numerous awards and honors over the years- "Helen Farabee Community Leadership Award" by the Houston Mental Health Association; twice honored by the Texas Classroom Teachers as a "Legislative Star"; "the Best of the 77th Legislature" by Hispanic Journal; "Star of Texas Award" by Common Cause of Texas, "Open Government Award" by the Texas Daily Newspaper Association; Named one of the "Ten Best Legislators" of the "75th" and "80th" Legislative Sessions by Texas Monthly Magazine; "Texas Hospital Advocacy Tribute Award" by the Texas Hospital Association; "Friends of Medicine Award" by the Texas Medical Association; "Champion for Children Award" by the Amerigroup Foundation; "Child Advocacy Award" by the Texas Pediatric Society; "Presidential Award of Merit" from the Texas Association of Family Physicians, and the list goes on. Following the 82nd Legislature, Rep. Turner received "Honorable Mention" from Texas Monthly Magazine for "his passionate defense of the voiceless”; was awarded the "2011 Legislative Leadership Award" from AARP for his dedication to protecting seniors and also received the "Hero Award" from the NAACP of Texas. He was also recognized by a number of organizations and associations for his staunch advocacy to prevent the massive state budget cuts which drastically cut services essential to schools, the disabled, the elderly as well as to children and the low- income.

Rep. Turner served as Speaker Pro Tempore from 2003 until 2009 and also served as Chairman of the Criminal Justice Appropriations Committee, as a member of the Calendars Committee, as Chair of the House Select Committee on Hurricane Ike Storm Devastation to the Texas Gulf Coast and as a member of the Select Committee on Electric Generation Capacity and Environmental Effects. Representative Turner currently serves on the Legislative Budget Board which oversees the State's $150 billion dollar budget. He currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Appropriations Committee and as a member of the State Affairs Committee and Interim Committee on General Revenue Dedicated Accounts. Rep. Turner is also Chair of the House Greater Houston Area Delegation and also serves as Chair of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus which will be hosting the African-American Legislative Summit in February 2013 that will be awarding more than $120,000 in scholarships to Texas high school seniors.

Rep. Turner is extremely proud of an initiative in his district he gave vision to many years ago. The Urban Youth Baseball Academy - housed at the Sylvester Turner Park - which is currently operating and is sponsored by Major League Baseball and the Houston Astros. Rep. Turner also hosts a number of community wide events and town hall meetings for the public. For the last four years on the second Saturday of April, Rep. Turner hosts the widely known Family Fun Day which serves more than 12,000 Houstonians and offers free food, music, baseball games and other activities for family members of all ages. Rep. Turner also coordinates the annual Acres Homes Juneteenth Parade which showcases the best of Acres Homes and features area school drill teams, bands, churches, businesses and community leaders.

Rep. Turner is also currently a member of Brookhollow Baptist Church. Rep. Turner is the proud father of Ashley Paige Turner, a graduate of University of Texas at San Antonio and Texas Women's University.