Just shy of being twelve years old, Susan Fleming Warner joined Second on December 25, 1966 and to this day remembers what she was wearing! The daughter of Joanne and Bob Fleming, she is married to Mike Warner and they have two sons, Paul and Evan. Paul and his wife Meghean have three children, Gracie, Lilly and James. Mike and Susan are active members of the Growing in Grace congregational community.
Following law school, Susan worked at National Bank of Commerce as associate legal counsel for the bank and its affiliates. Then after a stint as a stay-at-home mom, she joined the church staff at Second for several years, serving as Pastoral Coordinator, and retired in 2018.
Joining the Board in the 2002-03 year, she has faithfully served the Foundation on the Board; Administrative, Nominations, and Executive Committees; and as Secretary. She additionally has served as Secretary of the Second Presbyterian Realty Foundation.
While she is no longer Secretary for those two entities, she invested many years in those capacities. This officer level position is crucial to maintaining an accurate and historical record of formal actions of the two Boards. The Lord used Susan’s legal skills to establish a precedent for a minute taking style that the Foundation still employs today. Susan has navigated bylaw revisions when needed and performed other corporate responsibilities. She currently serves as a Board member and on the Administrative Committee.
Hear Susan tell her history with the Foundation.
“After I left my job at NBC, I got a call from Jim Boren, then Chairman of the Foundation, to see if I would be interested in serving on the Board and also as Secretary. I knew Jim from church and the legal world, and I guess he and the other board members thought my corporate legal experience would be a good fit, especially in the area of taking minutes! Although my knowledge of the Foundation at that time was limited, I was intrigued and honored to be asked to use my educational and work experiences to serve the Foundation and, ultimately, God’s Kingdom.
“We want to leave that gift to the Foundation as a spiritual legacy to our children and grandchildren."
“I remember driving to my first board meeting and saying, “Lord, you tell us that you will equip us to do the good works to which we are called, so I’m counting on you to be with me in this meeting with Jim Boren, Monte Weaver, John Dobbs, Bruce Campbell, and others.” What an all-star lineup of strong Christians and brilliant minds! So that was my first challenge...feeling up to the job. Thankfully, I received lots of encouragement and grace from them.
“My involvement with the Foundation has increased my familiarity with the wonderful ministries Second and the Foundation support and has given me an up-close view of the fruit produced through donations from the Foundation. At each of our board meetings, we hear a firsthand account from a representative of one of our ministry partners, either local or foreign, and that is when better understanding of God’s work through the Foundation leads to excitement about the endless possibilities we have to be part of God’s plan of redeeming the world by faithful and generous giving.
“From a more personal standpoint, Mike and I have named the Foundation as a beneficiary in our wills, first of all, because we desire to be good stewards of God’s provisions, and also because we want to leave that gift to the Foundation as a spiritual legacy to our children and grandchildren.”