Susan has been connected to The Rose since the mid-1980s, when her boss at Texas Commerce Bank handed her a stack of newspaper articles and asked her to learn everything she could about a surgeon named Dr. Dixie Melillo. That assignment turned into a decades-long relationship with The Rose, years of emceeing fundraising style shows, and an unbroken commitment to the mission that continues today. She launched the Louise McBee Circle of Life Circle of Wreaths, an annual wreath auction run entirely by Art Park Players volunteers in honor of her mother.

Her message throughout the years is simple, yet profound: everyone carries a light, and even the smallest flame can be the brightest thing in someone's darkest moment.

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Key Questions Answered

1. How did Susan's relationship with The Rose begin, and what role did Dr. Dixie Melillo play in building it?

2. What did The Rose's full continuum of care look like for Susan's mother after a breast cancer diagnosis in 1993?

3. How does The Rose support patients beyond surgery, including wigs, prosthetics, and emotional follow-through?

4. What is the Louise McBee Circle of Life Circle of Wreaths and why did Susan start it?

5. How have Art Park Players volunteers sustained a community fundraiser for The Rose since 2001?

6. What is Art Park Players, and how does it serve children, families, and volunteers across the Houston area?

7. How does community word-of-mouth and sustained volunteer loyalty fuel The Rose's mission year after year?

8. Why does Susan send both insured and uninsured women to The Rose, and why does that distinction matter for the organization's funding?

9. How does a small annual fundraiser like a wreath auction contribute meaningfully to The Rose's operating budget?

10. What advice does Susan offer to people who feel their contribution is too small to matter?

11. How does Susan connect her work at Art Park Players with the same values of service, dignity, and community that drive The Rose?

Timestamped Overview

00:00 Dorothy introduces Susan Mele: 45 years with Art Park Players, decades of Rose support, her mother's breast cancer journey with Dr. Melillo, and the annual wreath fundraiser named in her mother's honor.

00:52 Dorothy delivers the episode CTA: share this episode and donate at therose.org.

01:38 Dorothy asks Susan to start with herself. Susan describes a lifelong passion for performing, being adopted at 16 days old, and parents who nurtured her drive while grounding her in service and faith.

02:50 Dorothy asks how Susan first learned about The Rose.

02:55 Susan describes working for Tom Watson at Texas Commerce Bank in the mid-1980s. He had her clip every newspaper article she could find about Dr. Dixie Melillo, which led to Dixie joining the bank's board of directors and Susan meeting both Dorothy and Dixie.

03:29 Dorothy notes this connection goes back to 1986 or 1987.

03:47 Susan reflects on what drew her in: the compassion she saw in Dorothy and Dixie, and the contrast between how cancer was perceived in the 1980s and what The Rose was actually doing for women.

05:01 Dorothy recalls The Rose's earliest survivor volunteers and the environment Dixie created, including the time they could not say the word "breast" on television or radio.

05:44 Dorothy asks if breast cancer has touched Susan personally.

05:47 Susan describes her mother's 1993 breast cancer diagnosis. She brought her immediately to Dr. Melillo and The Rose.

06:20 Susan describes her mother's treatment: mastectomy on one side, lumpectomy on the other. Her mother declined reconstructive surgery and was afraid of hair loss.

06:55 Susan describes The Rose's follow-through after surgery: a referral to a wig specialist, fittings for prosthetic breasts and special bras, and ongoing mental and emotional support. Her mother survived.

08:02 Dorothy asks whether that experience deepened Susan's involvement with The Rose.

09:09 Susan describes how the Style Shows worked: store fittings, themed productions, silent auctions, and a community turnout that she believes turned many attendees into lifelong Rose supporters.

10:08 Dorothy asks Susan to recall a favorite Style Show moment. Both remember the 1960s hippie theme as particularly memorable.

11:56 Susan reflects on how events like the Style Show built lasting community investment in The Rose.

12:31 Dorothy asks Susan to talk about Art Park Players.

14:38 Susan describes joining in 1980 as a volunteer vocal coach, working for seven years without pay, then moving to part-time work at $6.50 an hour. She recognized her true calling was not performing but watching children find their voices and confidence.

15:01 Susan describes Art Park Players today: 250 students per semester, the largest children's theater in the city, the largest volunteer base in Deer Park, a Carnival Cruise performance group, a competition troupe through Theater Network of Texas, and scholarship and internship programs.

17:23 Susan describes fundraising within the theater: raising money for student travel, competitions, scholarships, and a private donor who quietly funds costumes and tuition for children whose families cannot afford them.

18:32 Susan reflects on being asked by Sue Finley Myers to carry on the mission when she retired.

18:55 Dorothy asks if students must be Deer Park residents. Susan says no, and describes students traveling from Humble, Cypress, Clear Lake, the Woodlands, and Friendswood.

20:19 Susan confirms Art Park Players is still a dinner theater and the only full year-round dinner theater in the Houston area. She shares that food brings in the husbands.

20:45 Dorothy asks Susan to describe the annual Rose fundraiser.

20:52 Susan describes the origin of the wreath auction: in 2001, volunteers wanted to do something meaningful and creative for The Rose. Inspired by a Circle of Trees event she had helped organize, she proposed handmade wreaths, a never-ending circle with symbolic meaning.

22:52 Susan explains the format: a fall wreath auction for show audiences and a Christmas wreath auction for theater families. Anyone can donate a wreath, and the offerings have grown to include wooden signs, stands, and centerpieces.

24:11 Dorothy confirms the event happens in fall and at Christmas.

24:20 Susan describes a piece made by a longtime volunteer woodworker that now sits in The Rose's lobby, bearing her mother's name. She says friends who come to The Rose for mammograms send her photos of it.

26:36 Susan says the Louise McBee Circle of Life Circle of Wreaths will continue as long as she is alive, regardless of the dollar amount raised.

26:53 Dorothy notes the fundraiser has now run for over 24 years.

27:07 Susan points out that Art Park Players was involved with The Rose even before 2001, through the Style Show partnership in the 1990s, totaling well over three decades of support.

27:33 Dorothy asks Susan's favorite Art Park production.

29:43 Dorothy closes the interview and reflects on the richness of Susan's story.

30:50 Susan shares her final message: everyone is valuable, everyone is worthy, and everyone carries a light. No matter how small the flame, it can be the brightest thing in someone's darkest moment, and that light is hope.