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By Mandy Haggerson

For the Clemmons Courier

When you grow up on a working farm, it’s almost impossible not to love animals and recognize the value of hard work.

“I was surrounded by so many animals and loved every minute of it,” Whitener said. “I was lucky enough to even have rabbits, a pet pig and a cow. I saw how much work went into the farm that yielded tobacco, corn, soybeans, dairy and had chicken houses. My dad had another full-time job outside of the farm, which he helped run, and my mom always made sure we had delicious home-cooked meals as a family.

“I have four older brothers; the youngest is eight years older than I am, and the oldest is 16 years older. I had a couple of overprotective “dads” always watching over me. They had their own lives when I was born, so having my animals around me was important. Where we lived in Dobson people would dump unwanted animals at our farm all the time, and we would care for them. I developed a real appreciation and bond with animals from as young as I can remember.”

Feeling a sense of family and safety in her hometown, when Whitener graduated from high school, she knew she wanted to attend college.

“Initially, I went to Surry Community College for my core classes before heading off to Gardner-Webb University,” Whitener said. “I earned my bachelor’s degree in business and computer information systems. During the summers, I would work at various jobs, including down at the courthouse as an intern. I ran into my future husband, Mitch, while I was working there. We had met previously when I had first started college, but his romantic overtures to get my attention were a lot more obvious this time,” smiles Whitener. “I didn’t make it easy for him. Finally, during my last year of college when I was finishing my classes remotely, we started dating. Mitch was in the highway patrol, so when we got engaged, it took several years before we got married.”

While Mitch was establishing his career in law enforcement, Whitener also furthered her studies after graduating from college.

“I enjoyed the subjects so much I decided to also work towards my master’s degree in business and computer information systems from Gardner-Webb,” Whitener said.

After graduating, Whitener began working as an account executive for Estée Lauder. Due to Mitch’s career in law enforcement, he and Susan had several moves to make in their early years of marriage.

“In 1998, his duty station was Mocksville, and I knew at that time, it would be more of a permanent move,” Whitener said. “We also knew we wanted to expand our family in an area where we wouldn’t have to make additional moves once establishing a school system and community. We had our son, Kinston (24) and were absolutely elated. He is the center of my world.”

Whitener realized that her job with Estée Lauder made it difficult to be there for Kinston with her travel schedule.

“I made a career change to working for Truliant Federal Credit Union once he was born,” Whitener said. “Mitch also had a rotating schedule, which made it tougher for me to travel. He worked many holidays and weekends, and I knew that I wanted to be there for Kinston. I worked for Truliant for 17 years. As Kinston got older and self-sufficient, I went back to work in the software business that I got my degree in. I’ve been doing that now for the past eight years. I love my job because I get to help people make the right decision for their technologies and digital transactions. The world has changed. Everyone logs in now and does everything online. It’s fun to be a part of making that as safe and efficient as possible.”

Whitener still gets to enjoy saving her animals like she once did as a child.

“I have three cats and two dogs that are all rescues,” Whitener said. “I seem to find the ones that need the most help, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. They are like my family. As much as I love to travel, it’s still hard to leave them behind because of how much I miss them. Mitch and I try and make that time for ourselves, though. Now that he is retired from the law enforcement world, we are able to travel with our son and ourselves. Kinston just graduated from North Carolina State University, and we enjoy making time to visit with him when his schedule permits. He has grown up to be such a responsible and hardworking young man. I really enjoy the relationship we have built, and am very proud of him.

“This next chapter in life reminds me all over again of what is most important.”