Though Scott and Beth Susens are not Park Cities natives, they love being able to call the area home. Scott, born in California, grew up in Chicago and Fort Wayne, Indiana. After attending college at Indiana University where he studied finance, he moved to Dallas to become an investment banker. “Though I came for investment banking, I ended up getting into the IT business early,” shared Scott. “I worked for broadcast.com and Yahoo! where I began to work in software development and management.” Scott now builds software for ConnectWise.
Beth’s parents are from northwest Indiana, and due to her father’s job with Campbell Soup, the family moved frequently. She lived in Illinois, New Jersey, and Nebraska, before moving to Paris, Texas, where she attended elementary school. She attended high school in Pennsylvania and later moved to Dallas to go to college at Northwood University. She worked for several law firms in Dallas and then Procter & Gamble before staying at home with her children.
The couple met while Scott was installing a computer system for a law firm that Beth was working for. They were both seeing other people, but an insistent coworker eventually set them up on a date. “Initially, neither one of us were interested in the other,” said Beth. “We were both dating other people, and Scott is a hunter and fisherman and very outdoorsy, something I am not.” Their first date occurred at Dodie’s for crawfish, which Beth was not prepared for. “I really just pushed it around on my plate, not wanting to touch it,” she laughed. After dating for a bit, the two ended up going their separate ways until two years later when Beth called Scott to ask him out on a date. “After dating again, I knew that he was the one,” said Beth. Scott continued, “Apparently, I was moving too slow, so Beth actually proposed to me. It was more of ‘Here are some choices for dates. Pick one.’ One was in the middle of hunting season, so that was not going to work,” laughed Scott.
Scott and Beth have two children, Miller and Michael. Miller, age 27, has a degree in Music Education from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She was a part of the orchestra at HPHS as well as the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra and New Conservatory of Dallas. “With a degree in music education, she had to learn how to teach music and how to play every instrument,” explained Beth. “She started playing cello at age 10 but needed to learn all instruments for her degree and teaching license. She now teaches 4th-6th grade elementary strings in Fairfax County, Virginia and loves it.” She is currently preparing to audition for her Master’s degree in cello performance.
Michael, age 25, works at Chance’s Coffee Shop at the Tolleson Building through Highland Park United Methodist Church and To Be Like Me, a disability awareness program that breaks down barriers and fosters compassion. “Highland Park has been a blessing to us,” said Beth. “We moved to the Park Cities from East Dallas in 2004. The Highland Park school’s special education programs emphasize inclusion and giving everyone a chance regardless of ability. The teachers and resources make the programs a success. Their transition program after high school was an amazing boost to Michael’s confidence and job skills. The skills acquired during the transition program with job coaches allowed Michael to be employable in different areas after graduation. We also have wonderful local businesses in our community that have stepped up and given our population with disabilities a chance at employment.”
With a passion for advocacy, Beth stays active as a board member of the Autism Treatment Center and is involved with the Belong Disability Ministry at HPUMC. She spent a good amount of time while her children were in HP schools also volunteering in various roles. Hobbies for her and Scott include cooking and traveling. “I love to cook,” said Beth. “Scott is a great cook as well, and he does all the grilling. He even bottles his own barbeque sauce. For Valentine’s Day, instead of going out to eat, Scott cooks a special dinner, and we enjoy dinner just the two of us.” The Susens also grow herbs and vegetables and love experimenting with new cuisines. “We cook at home more than we eat out, but when we do dine out, we love to try new places,” Scott shared. Beth says she models her cooking style from Food Network host Ina Garten saying, “Not everything has to be hard to serve a great meal!” Scott, on the other hand, says his approach is more Michael Symon from Burgers, Brew, and ‘Que. “He has a practical attitude about grilling and food, and I like his style.”
Beth and Scott describe their favorite vacation memory as a cruise taken for Beth’s dad’s 80th birthday. Beth comes from a large family of five brothers and sisters. “It’s difficult for us to all be together as we live in different parts of the country,” she said. “We went between Christmas and New Year’s, and we all had a great time. Everyone was old enough to manage on their own, so we planned our own schedules with the exception of having dinner as a family every night.” Current travel plans include an upcoming cruise for their 30th anniversary.
Their son, Michael, is a huge rail fan. He has been interested in trains since age two and has advanced from wooden Thomas the Tank Engine to model trains. This has resulted in many train vacations for the Susens family. Over the years, the family has traveled all over the country to ride tourist steam trains in Colorado, California, Texas, and Nevada. He belongs to a train club called The Texas Outlaws and is able to participate with others in local train shows. Last year, Michael and Scott did a week long “train camp” in Ely, Nevada where they worked on the railroad and got to actually drive a steam engine.
Scott also has some bucket list trips. “I got to participate in a big marlin tournament in Destin, and I would like to do more of that,” he explained. “My largest and most memorable catch was a 450lb black marlin that was actually attacked by a shark while I was reeling it in. I have also been to Alaska, Panama, Costa Rica and many areas in the US but would like to go back to do more fishing in Alaska. In the late spring, I head to Connecticut to fly fish at the Walton Fishing Club on the Housatonic River and that’s always a great time!”