May 17

DCRP Executive Director Susan Fountain: Building the Party #1 Priority


Summary

When Dallas County Republican Party Chair Jennifer Hajdu was elected to lead the party, she turned to a woman with decades of experience to run the office as her Executive Director.

Born and raised in a small town outside of Galveston, Susan Fountain graduated from O’Connell High School, a co-ed Catholic high school.

She attended college in San Antonio and UT-Dallas and has lived in Lake Highlands where she’s now lived for 42 years. Her three grown children are proud graduates of Lake Highlands High School.  Although one escaped to the Denver area, two live close by. 


Details

Pictured: Taft Thompson, Precinct Chair for 3055, and Susan Fountain

When Dallas County Republican Party Chair Jennifer Hajdu was elected to lead the party, she turned to a woman with decades of experience to run the office as her Executive Director.

Born and raised in a small town outside of Galveston, Susan Fountain graduated from O’Connell High School, a co-ed Catholic high school.

She attended college in San Antonio and UT-Dallas and has lived in Lake Highlands where she’s now lived for 42 years. Her three grown children are proud graduates of Lake Highlands High School.  Although one escaped to the Denver area, two live close by. 

Susan’s foray into politics began in 2005 after her children were grown.

“I finally had time to do pursue things I was interested in – making our city and county stronger and kinder, a better place to live for all.”

Into Politics

She was elected the Republican Party of Texas SREC SD-16 Committee woman in 2018 and is now serving her third term.

She joined Lake Highlands Republican Women in 2005.  In 2007 she became the LHRW Treasurer, a position she held for two years. In 2008 Susan attended her first RPT State Convention and in 2009 was elected Vice President of Membership of Lake Highlands Republican Women. She attended the RPT State Convention in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018.

During that time, she again served as LHRW Treasurer for two years, and in 2014 became the LHRW President. During her first year, membership doubled.

Dallas County

In 2016 she became the Dallas County Republican Party Treasurer, and in 2017 the Dallas County Council of Republican Women Treasurer.

She attended the TFRW Convention that year and fulfilled her second year as Lake Highlands President in 2018 when she was also elected to her first term as SREC SD16 in June at the Convention.

Susan served on the Legislative Priorities Committee. This SREC Committee was focused on the eight Legislative Priorities passed at the 2018 Republican Party of Texas State Convention in San Antonio, my 6th Convention. Each Sub-Committee tracked bills from filing to final disposition in the 86th Legislative Session and I was Chair of our Sub-Committee "Abolish Abortion.”

She also served on the Party Organization Committee tasked with rewriting Employee Handbook ensuring the resolution of Party Employees acting as activists at the mike during the Convention to implement changes to the Party Platform. The Party Organization Committee also set out a plan to allocate $100,000 to fund website implementation for all 254 County Parties. Also served on Engagement Committee, tasked with finding new methods of engaging communities within our own communities. Full attendance of all eight quarterly SREC meetings in the full two-year term 2018 - 2020.

Susan was awarded The Conservative Leadership Award from the Texas Scorecard in 2020 for her work.

Susan believes experience matters. Her 18 years of involvement with the party, both locally and state-wide, made her the perfect person to work alongside Dallas County Republican Party Chair Jennifer Hadju.

Back Home

When she’s not in the office – sometimes up to 15 hours a day – Susan enjoys horseback riding. “I’ve lived a mile and a half from White Rock Stables and love the outdoors, so go for a ride around the lake whenever I can.” She also has season tickets to the Arboretum’s Thursday Concert series, and loves driving around her neighborhood in her Golf Cart.

In The News

She’s had lunch with Mickey Mantle – twice – (“He was friends with one of my best clients, and I love baseball”) and she met Soccer star Pele’ while supporting the international soccer tournament held annually at Lake Highlands High School.

During those years, she became friends with one of the referees from Ethiopia. “Nobody wanted to house him, so I did,” she remembers. A few months later she took in his son and daughter so they could attend school in America. Thirty years later, both are still living here and are successful now – an engineer and a nurse. The Dallas Morning News did a story on Susan and her family, “about a white family who took in two black children.”

The Future

Susan has a positive outlook on Dallas County – and life. “My belief is our future is bright. Our youth will fix what is wrong in our country.”

Meanwhile, “We need more good people of great character to get involved. To learn the nuances of campaigning, public speaking, and sending the correct message to get elected. Always based on Facts and truth. It’s doable. Knowing the Issues – not buzzwords – and getting votes!”

She’s currently involved in defending the SB 1 Election Integrity bill which was passed in 2021. Just a couple of weeks ago, she sat for an hour deposition in defense of SB1. 

And she continues working to make people aware that they need to vote. “We have Republicans who do not vote. They’ve been told that they can’t win.”

But obviously, Susan says, “I’m no quitter.” She believes a united Republican Party can strengthen both Dallas County and the state.

Looking ahead five years, Susan hopes to be “playing with my grandchildren,” she says, with a twinkle in her eye. Two of her three grown children are married and her third has a wedding scheduled this summer.

But she expects she will still be working with the DCRP “in one way or another,” to get more Republicans elected, to make Dallas County a great place to live for her future grandchildren – and us all.

 

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