Citizen of the Week: Realtor Susan Stopford Gives Back to the Community That Lifted Her Up

Years before Susan Stopford helped families buy and sell homes across Fayette County, she was a frightened mother caring for a newly diagnosed child with cancer in a community where she barely knew anyone.

The meals delivered by church members. The friends who cared for her older children. The neighbors who showed up with snacks, clothes, and encouragement. The community that surrounded her family during its darkest days forever changed the way Stopford viewed service—and ultimately helped shape the Realtor and volunteer leader she would become.

Today, that commitment to giving back has earned Stopford another honor: selection as the 2026 “Rooted in Georgia” Ambassador for the Georgia Association of REALTORS for Region 7, recognizing years of community service throughout Fayette, Coweta, and surrounding counties.

A broadcast journalism graduate of Kansas State University, Stopford began her career in television news, interning with a Wichita television station and the office of then-U.S. Sen. Bob Dole. Her family’s journey eventually took them overseas, where they spent more than four years living in Switzerland before relocating to Fayette County after her husband accepted a position with Coca-Cola.

The move south was exciting, but it quickly turned into a nightmare.

Shortly after arriving in Georgia, one of the Stopfords’ young children was diagnosed with cancer. Far from family and still new to the area, Susan suddenly found herself navigating surgeries, chemotherapy, lengthy hospital stays, and unimaginable uncertainty.

What she remembers most from that time, however, is not being alone.

Church members delivered meals. School families helped care for her older children. Soccer parents checked in. Friends she had barely met showed up at the hospital with clothes, snacks, and bottled water. Others stepped in to help manage everyday life while she remained at her child’s bedside.

“I was overwhelmed,” Stopford said. “I could not believe the outpouring of support that I got from people. I had just moved here. No one knew who I was. I did not grow up in Georgia. But people from church, school, sports—everyone just surrounded our family.”

Today, that child has grown into a healthy, bright, productive young adult who even attended Georgia Tech—a future that once seemed anything but certain during those frightening early years.

For Stopford, the experience transformed her worldview. 

“I’ve seen firsthand how much of a difference people can make when they give their time and talents to help others,” she said. “When I transitioned into real estate here in Georgia, I realized those same skills I had from my broadcasting days could help not only my sellers, but nonprofits and community organizations share their missions and reach more people.”

Helping families find home

Stopford earned her real estate license about 10 years ago and later obtained her broker’s license. Today she is a Realtor with Full House Realty, where she helps families navigate one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives while using her background in journalism and visual storytelling to professionally market homes.

She says buying or selling a home is far more complex than many people realize.

“Buying and selling a home is crazy complicated,” Stopford said. “You don’t know what you don’t know.”

Her broadcast background has become an asset not only for her clients, but for the community as well. She creates professional marketing for her listings while also donating those same storytelling skills to organizations throughout the region. Over the years she has produced videos for Clearwater Academy, the Calvin Center’s therapeutic riding programs, HomeAid, and numerous nonprofit fundraisers.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she also volunteered with the Medical Reserve Corps of West Georgia, helping organize and distribute critical medical supplies at a time when they were desperately needed.

Rather than viewing volunteer work as separate from her profession, Stopford sees it as a natural extension of it.

“There’s always something going on in our community where people need help,” she said. “Realtors are part of this community just like everyone else. It makes sense that we would want to give back where we live.”

Most recently, Stopford volunteered her broadcast journalism and video production skills to help The Citizen cover Peachtree City’s Fourth of July celebration, producing professional video coverage of the day’s festivities that readers can view alongside this story.

Earlier this year, the Fayette County Board of Realtors recognized her commitment by naming Stopford its 2025 Good Neighbor Award recipient. That recognition led to her recent appointment as the Georgia Association of REALTORS Region 7 Ambassador, representing Fayette, Coweta, Henry, Spalding, Pike, Lamar, Butts, Newton, Troup, Upson, Clayton, and surrounding areas.

A reputation for showing up

Those who work alongside Stopford say the ambassador role is a natural fit.

“Susan’s an amazing Realtor and a huge asset in our community,” said Traci Fuller, broker and CEO of Full House Realty. “She always goes way above and beyond for her clients and the community. She reaches out and is always willing to pitch in and do anything that’s needed. I just think the world of her personally, as a friend and as a member of my team, and I think the Georgia REALTORS are really going to appreciate having her alongside them.”

Although the ambassador title is new, Stopford says her motivation remains the same as it has been since her family first arrived in Georgia.

“It’s empowering to work with people who are giving back to their community,” she said. “I don’t get involved because I’m trying to be recognized. I get involved because I see incredible things happening here, and I want more people to know about them.”

More than two decades after strangers first surrounded the Stopford family with meals, prayers, and practical help, Susan Stopford continues returning that kindness through her work as a Realtor, her volunteer service, and her gift for telling the stories that make a community stronger.