Al Turner, Splash Magazine Collection

In 1974, after graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 1967 with a degree in journalism, Al Turner and his fraternity brother Dave Bruschi opened a property and casualty insurance company in Missouri, which began selling insurance for waterslides by the late 1970s. They found that insurance for waterslides was overpriced but realized that if a group of waterparks bought insurance together, the cost would fall. In 1980 they founded the American Waterslide Association to reduce the price of insurance for members. In 1981, Turner published a newsletter, News Splash and held the association's first convention. The organization developed rapidly, in 1983 it became the World Waterpark Association. It is a non-profit organization that is now the world's leading water leisure trade association representing 1300 parks and supplier members from 52 countries.

Al Turner continued publishing the organization's magazines including Resort Attractions, Waterpark Developers Reference, World and Waterpark Buyer's Guide. News Splash was renamed Splash in 1985. Al Turner died in 2001.