Susan Priester gives a big boost to music and other arts in Cape May
Editor’s Note: Cape May County ranks 15th nationwide and first in the state as a second home destination, so this summer the Herald will be periodically featuring stories about interesting second homeowners. If you have the name of someone you would like to nominate, please email editor@cmcherald.com with the reason why and with contact information. This is the fifth in that series.
CAPE MAY – When Susan Priester was young, her dad’s strong interest in jazz and playing the drums instilled in her a love for music that she continues to have today.
While as a child Priester played the piano, her connection with music as an adult has led to her becoming a major supporter of music events in Cape May, where she has had a second home since 2000.
At that time, her family became acquainted with Michael Zuckerman, who served as director of the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities from 1982 to 2020, when he retired. With her father, Bill Carpenter, she spearheaded the creation of the Michael Zuckerman Endowment for Collections in 2012-13, in honor of Zuckerman’s 30th anniversary as MAC’s director.
According to Zuckerman, Priester is one of the largest individual donors to MAC, and the Priester Foundation has made large donations each year to the Cape May Music Festival.
“My dad always wanted to come to Cape May, and in the 1980s, my parents started a small endowment for MAC’s music festival,” she said.
Her involvement with MAC extends beyond music, as she turned her Victorian cottage on Franklin Street over to MAC for its 2009 Designer Show House.
“We all love this place, and I want to do what I can to maintain what it has to offer and keep my family, and others, coming,” she said.
She is also involved in the Center for Community Arts, Cape May Stage and the Exit Zero Jazz Festival Foundation. “One of the things I like about the jazz festival is that it brings a different crowd into Cape May during a different time of year,” she said. “Cape May attracts a lot of talent.”
Although she splits her time between her homes in Greenville, South Carolina, where she is also a major philanthropic force, and Cape May, she grew up in St. Louis and Pittsburgh, and never really remembers a time when Cape May wasn’t part of her life.
Her grandparents came to Cape May in the 1920s and her father first came in 1927. Priester recalls spending summers there as a teen in the 1960s, when her first job was at Morrow’s Nut House. She has shared her love for the seaside resort with her two children and 5-year-old granddaughter, and eventually will do so with her newborn granddaughter as well.
Priester started bringing her two children to Cape May about 1984, when her son was 4 and her daughter was 1. Her daughter eventually worked summers in Cape May, was a lifeguard, and also was stationed in Cape May for several years while she worked as an observer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“When I tell my friends in South Carolina that I am going to the beach in New Jersey, they think I am crazy,” she said, chuckling, “until they see the beaches here and how wonderful they are.”
She loves everything the community offers, from riding her bike and shopping for seafood to birding, restaurants and the beach. She loves the Lobster House seafood market, which she thinks is the “best anywhere.”
She has lived in South Carolina since 1976, where she and her late husband owned a small computer company. In Greenville, she has been involved in nonprofit consulting and donates generously to a wide range of cultural and social service organizations; she is a leader on a variety of nonprofit boards and committees. She also is a past chair of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra.
As a second homeowner, Priester is committed to helping where she can. She stressed that “people have to have jobs to live in Cape May full time, they need affordable housing. I want to come to Cape May for as long as I can. I get there as often as I can, and our family gathers there for Thanksgiving.
“But you just can’t take,” she continued. “I understand that as a second homeowner you pay taxes, but if you enjoy Cape May, then you have to realize that it needs an infrastructure to keep all those things that you like going … infrastructure, culture, affordable housing, employees, strong businesses … all those things that make Cape May that special place.
“Leave a legacy to keep it going for the next generation,” she urged. “Cape May is the oldest seashore resort, and has its own unique history. If you enjoy it and can help the community, then you should.”
Contact the reporter, Karen Knight, at kknight@cmcherald.com.
